


To Hollow the Soul

by HermesSerpent



Category: Freakazoid (Cartoon)
Genre: Friendship, Murder, No beta reader, OC centric, a lock down apparently, dealing with being abandoned, dexter being a timid boi, freakazoid being defensive, i dont think I could get one for this insanity if i tried, let me know if other tags needed, protective freakazoid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 23,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26068285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HermesSerpent/pseuds/HermesSerpent
Summary: Dexter Douglas has a pretty good handle on life, or at least he would like to think so. Hes gotten used to sharing his mind with Freakazoid and has been able to soldier through highschool despite the bullies. But now a new threat looms on the horizon, hungry and hollow. Watch out world! Here comes Geisterfahrer!!This story is very OC centered, one of the first I’ve written like this. I posted a snap shot with him earlier, which will be worked into a later part of the story. Also, bits of it was written over 2 years ago and I’m trying to breathe life into it. Sorry if some of it comes off as awkward. Thank you so much Nosy Anon on Tumblr! Without you, I probably would not have had the motivation and burning interest to write this.This story will update at random with no set schedule.
Relationships: Dexter Douglas & Freakazoid
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Dexter twirls his pencil across his fingers, eyes narrowed at the math sheet. He works through the problem metally and then starts jotting down his work. Duncan had snapped his calculator two days ago while messing around and Dexter is relying on his mind to work through the problems. He quickly blocks the thought from passing through his mental link to his best friend, not wanting to get into another argument about Freakazoid wrestling his brother in revenge. Freakazoid is happily chattering in the back of his mind. He half listens to the rambles as he finishes up the numbers and then begins to stare out of the window. It is the last class of the day and after this Freakazoid would be able to get out and start running around on patrol. The geek adjusts his glasses as he quickly thinks through his list of potential homework. Satisfied that he had finished everything possible, he lets himself to fully tune into Freakazoid’s chatter.

\--and then he started screaming for trash bags. I am truly inspired.-

‘To ask for trash bags?’

-Uh-huh. Also, if I ate like L, with all that sugar, would I get smarter?-

‘Probably not.’

Dexter is used to quick leaps between shows and ideas when it comes to Freakazoid’s chattering. It had been a lot like whiplash in the beginning, but now, almost a year in, he is quite used to the pace of Freakazoid.

-Yeah. I guess not. Oh, OH! Dexy! Dexy! What if I challenged the Lobe to a dance-off?-

‘Honestly, he would probably go for it. Just make sure there’s not some sort of timer involved attached to a bomb, okay?’

-Sure thing buddy!-

Dexter feels a smile pulling at the edge of his mouth. Freakazoid shoots a visual of him dancing violently over their shared mind link. The geek bites down on a bubble of laughter, which gets an excited buzz from his close friend. His eyes dart to the clock. Only a few more minutes and then he could go home and let the blue-skinned hero go out to save the city. His eyes glaze as he enters back into conversation with Freakazoid, letting the other teen lead the conversation and only occasionally chiming in with a personal thought. 

The class soon ends and Dexter rises and starts walking down the hall. He gets shoulder checked a few times, aggravating the deep bruises that are already there. But Dexter does not think about it. If he is not being directly punched in the face or spoken too, that is a win. Freakazoid mumbles sullenly about wanting to wrestle the jerks, but Dexter reminds the hero that it would be a bad look for a hero to beat up a large portion of the school’s population. The geek tilts his back letting the sun warm his face. While he did enjoy staging inside and sitting at his computer, a little sunlight now and then felt nice. He absently hums as Freakazoid continues to ramble as he walks home. He absently fiddles with his bookbag straps, fingers curling, and uncurling around the fabric. Overall the day has been a fairly typical day for Dexter Douglas, and he is happy for it. 

\---------------------------------------

Freakazoid swings his arms about, excited to get started on his patrol. He bounces out of Dexter’s window. Being free and able to move on his own is a sweet luxury that he trys to enjoy to the fullest. This is one of the reasons he refuses to think about how sad it makes him that he cannot see Dexter in the physical realm and not just the metaphysical one. Instead, he focuses in on what he can have and enjoys what he knows to be possible. 

-Dexy, play me some theme music!-

‘Sure, let me find that screen again. Have any requests?’

-Yes! Nightcore!-

Music begins to hum in the back of his mind and he lets out and excited croon. 

“Rockefeller Street! Let’s go!”

He dashes down the street, eyes darting about. People are everywhere happily talking and living life. Freakazoid lets his excitement of running around and the faint laughter that he can hear from Dexter fuel him to go faster. He launches into a highspeed cartwheel before righting himself. The warm sun feels nice as a chilly wind, created by his speed, skirts across his face. It is such a thrill to simply be alive, and he wants the world to know! He lets out a croon and Dexter chuckles again. He smiles at the happy noise, letting his joy flow freely across the link. 

A little while later he spots Cave Guy breaking out of a small diner, a back of presumably cash hanging from his should. He crows, getting the attention of the larger blue man. Dexter puts another song on play, lowering the volume a little as Freakazoid bounces quickly forwards. Time to do some good in this world! Freakazoid launches himself onto Cave Guy who swings and claws at him. The blue hero chatters every thought that passes across his mind, words bumping and crackling through the air, infuriating Cave Guy. Freakazoid loses track of what he is nattering on about, but he is okay with this. He knows that this particular enemy distinctly hated his nonsense words and jittery energy. He ducks under the large fist that flies towards his head, crooning and singing along to the song playing in the back of his mind. He skirts around and then swings his leg through the air, colliding it with Cave Guy’s head.

“You creatin! I shall snap every bone in your tiny insignificant body.”

“~Only if you can catch me!~”

Freakazoid taunts, dancing backward from the other. He spots a large piece of bumper strewn across the ground by Cave Guy’s rampant destruction. The smaller blue man snaps it up and twirls around before releasing it in a manner reminiscent of a hammer throw. 

“Na Na Na Na, Hey, hey-ey! Goodbye!” 

Freakazoid says with a large smile, standing over his felled enemy. Cave Guy is collapsed on the ground and Freakazoid bounces on his feet. Cosgrove approaches him as other officers come to take away the criminal. 

“Good work kid. Wanna grab a bagel?”

“Would I!?”

Freakazoid smiles, closely following behind his far older friend. Cosgrove is an additional calm voice of reason in his life that sometimes could help when both he and Dexter had run clean out of ideas. He enjoys the old cop’s company and as an added bonus, the man was also kind to Dexter when he saw him. Anyone who was nice to Dexter immediately became one of Freakazoid’s favorite people. The day continues in a fairly similar friendly and happy atmosphere. All in all, a typical day in the life of Freakazoid and his best friend Dexter.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little look into the average day of Dexter and Freakazoid before things start to change.  
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	2. Chapter 2

The forest is nice at sunset, Dexter thinks, hands slowly across the bark of a nearby tree. Everything is peaceful, with the twittering of birds and the gentlest of winds rustling the trees. He runs a hand through his brown hair and laughs as a small bird lands on his finger. Suddenly the peaceful atmosphere vanishes. The bird speeds off and the sun vanishes fully. Something is coming. Dexter knows he needs to run and then he bolts.

Dexter gasps for breath as he sprints. He is not sure what he is being chased by. The sky is black with no stars or moon. He slips and tries to yell out. But his jaw is locked tight. He draws air in through his nose as a loud caw breaks through the air. He shoves himself up and keeps running as the shadows seem to reach up to try and capture him. Dexter reaches out to Freakazoid, but he cannot feel him. The link is gone. A clean cut, like it had been removed with a butcher knife. Tears bubble out of his eyes as he tumbles down a sudden slope. His glasses break, flying from his brown eyes. The world is dark and blurry and Dexter curls up, too tired to keep going. He felt so alone and bitter. He felt something wrap around his wrist and suddenly his is blinking up at the ceiling of his room, jaw aching from clenching so hard. Freakazoid is panicking, calling out to him, sending reassurances, and asking him to respond. Dexter speaks aloud, as he rises from his bead.

“Hey, Freak. I’m okay. You got me out of the nightmare.”

-You shouldn’t have been in a bad dream!-

Freakazoid responds, despondent over a perceived failure.

“It’s okay. Nightmares are very natural. You can’t stop them all. And you got me out in the end and that’s what matters.”

Dexter wanders to his window, leaning his face against the cold surface. Thunder rumbles, shaking the house a little. Dexter tiredly blinks, eyes slowly dragging across the dark outside that is occasionally lit up by lightning. Freakazoid is whispering calming words and hums lightly. Dexter listens to the reassurances, trying to drag his mind away from his nightmares. A sour taste is prevalent across his tongue. He sighs and slinks away back to his bed. He mentally leans into the warmth and reassurance. It was just a nightmare, a simple figment of his imagination. Dexter curls up beneath the covers, his eyes scrunched tight. Freakazoid promises to do better this time around to block the nightmares. And Dexter trusts this promise, letting himself fall back asleep.

\---------------------

Across the city, on this same stormy night, lies a pile of junk. Forgotten and left to rot behind a warehouse. Thunder rumbles, shaking the air. Another bolt of lightning flashes out from the sky, arching down to crash into the pile. The electricity sparks and dances, bright and deadly, across the surface of false blue skin, forking outwards and burning down into the synthetic flesh. Eyes blink open, a cold deep blue of the town’s hero. Another blink and blue has faded and now a jarring blood-red takes over. 

A few blinks and the color stays. The clone of the town hero, which had been cast aside oh so carelessly by Gutierrez, sits up, mind blank. He looks down at his white-gloved hands, with no memories of what he is or who he is supposed to be. A hollow feeling settles in his gut as black hair falls down into his face. While swiping it aside the clone feels a mask. Suddenly, sitting still in the damp darkness of an alley becomes too lonely and disappearing and the clone leaps up and begins to stumble down the alleyway. He wails, loud and desperate. But no one comes. He slumps down against a wall, bawling and unsure why he has been left alone here. What had he done? Why did his insides feel so wrong and void? The thought of abandonment cuts deeper than not knowing who he is.

Hunger lashes at him and his eyes lift to see a soft light coming from under a back-door of a building. He feels the urge to break down the door and does not fight this. He burst forwards, tearing it off its hinges. His eyes are drawn to a small box on the wall and he shoves his hands into it. Electricity sparks across his skin, bringing with it power and a connection to the internet. His mind swirls, charging through hundreds of ideas and facts and dismissing them just as fast. He pulls his hands back, the gloves that had once rested there burned away, fearful of the sheer amount of knowledge. A few things stick with him when he disconnects. Words, ideas, places, they all are a jumble in his mind. He spots a string of numbers on his palm and pauses mentally.’31215145a’ His mind flashes through some of the information he had retained. A serial code of some sort? So he had been abandoned. The thought brings with it a spark of rage. He would just have to make his own way in the world. First, he needed a name. One word sticks out, feeling as close to a name as anything else. Remembering nothing of his origin, and wanting to become his own self, the clone names himself Geisterfahrer. He would make his own way, even if it went against others. He looks down at the hero suit he is wearing and immediately decides to get rid of it. Whoever made him dressed him like this and he would be their plaything no longer. He would never fall under another’s control and be cast aside again. From now on he would never let anything stop him from claiming what he wanted. 

He surges into the rest of the building, quickly realizing that it is a men’s apparel shop. His eyes glow with excitement as he begins to dash around, pulling on and taking off different clothes. He settles on a bright yellow button-down collared shirt with a buttoned yellow vest. He pulls on some red slacks and a red tailcoat. He smooths everything down and eyes himself in the mirror, deciding on a black tie to loop about his kneck. He ties it quickly while looking at shoes. He slips on a pair of black and white formal shoes and snatches up a set of durable leather black gloves. He tosses off his mask as a final act of removing what he once might have been. Now, he lives on his own terms. Time to figure out how to fill that aching void. First stop, the electricity of the city!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad dreams and the creation of a new threat! Art is from my tumblr!   
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	3. Chapter 3

Morning light peaks through the window, causing Dexter to stir. He squirms, wanting to ignore the need to rise. The nightmare had left him more tired than normal. Huffing out a weary breath, the teenager rolls over in the warmth of his bed. His eyes open unintentionally, revealing a blurry, but bright room filled with the light of the Saturday morning sun. Dexter sighs. He gives up his desperate attempt to ignore the morning and extracts himself from beneath the blankets. The room feels cold and harsh in comparison to his bed. Slipping his glasses on, the teenager begins to make the long journey down the stairs. Freakazoid is there in his head, still trying to ignore the world like a child faking sleep to convince his mind to fall back under. Dexter lets his companion continue the struggle against being awake not wanting to bother him. He slumps into a chair, absently wondering if there is still cereal in the cabinet.

His brain slowly starts to register that something is off. Rising, Dexter goes over to the light switch. It is in the on position, but the lights are out. He flicks it a few times with no result. Then he wanders into the living room and tries the other set of lights. Nothing. He tries the t.v. Nothing. 

‘The power is out. Did we blow a fuse because of the storm? That’s not very common for us...’ 

Dexter goes to the circuit breaker and tries to restore power. But, nothing works. Dexter groans as he realizes that his computer is not going to be working. He notes that his parents are still asleep along with his brother. Poking his alter ego, Dexter pushes Freakazoid into a more awake state. The blue hero hums and Dexter can feel the slow warmth of his awakened presence.

‘The power’s out.’

-Oh no! Dun dun duh!-

Dexter rolls his eyes at the dramatics and shuffles back to the kitchen. 

'Are you still able to access the internet?’

-Yeah. A bit fainter than normal…-

Dexter waits for his best friend to catch on.

-Oh! You want me to figure out what is going on.-

'Yes. Could you do that for me? Please?’

-The places outside D.C. have power. Where the emergency radio that your parents got for the hurricane last summer? It seems like all news inside the city is being broadcasted that way.-

Dexter moves around the house, eventually finding the radio in the closet behind some soap bottles. He cranks it for a bit to charge the battery and then turns the dial until he arrives at a news network. Moving the device into the kitchen, he sits at the counter. It crackles slightly but the message plays clear enough to understand. 

“Repeat. The source of this power drain is unknown. The whole city has been knocked out. No groups have claimed the attack. No attempts have been made against government buildings or personnel. Currently, this is suspected to be a precursor to an attack. Please remain in your homes until further information is received. If you are on the streets, you will be in violation of the lock down. Repeat. The….”

The message replays. Dexter tries tuning into other channels but the information seems to all be the same. He taps the table nervously. Dexter’s mother wanders downstairs, dressed and ready for the day. 

“Morning honey. Nice to see you out of your room.”

The radio loops the message again, saving Dexter from having to respond.

“Oh, dear. That’s just awful. Your fathers going to be disappointed about not being able to go to the golf course. Ah Well. It’s like a snow in!”

“Mom. This might be a set up for a bigger attack.”

“They don't know for sure Dexter! Oh, dear, I do hope we have enough milk and bread to get through this.”

Dexter blinks in disbelief, slowly shaking his head. Deciding that he is not hungry, the teenager wanders back up to his room. 

-Do you think I should go see Cosgrove?- 

Dexter pauses. 

'The radio was pretty clear. There was not a bit of it that said heroes could be on the street. Do you think you should?’

Dexter feels his more timid personality coming to the for ground, nervousness coiling in his stomach. Freakazoid answers him.

-Yes. I think heroes can be out during emergencies.-

Dexter fiddles with his hands, hesitation clawing at his nerves. He bites his lip and then gives in, knowing that the cities safety should come first. He shouts out the code words, allowing his friend to take over. 

\----------

Geisterfahrer lays on the floor of a warehouse, tucked out of sight of any intruding eyes. He had drained the whole city of its power, which left him twitching on the floor, sparks dancing across his skin. His hair glows white at the edges, standing completely on end, lit by the energy coursing through him. Despite having consumed so much power that his body is unable to consider taking in more, he still feels the edge of the desire for, something, he is unsure what, nipping at his gut. The feeling is driving him mad. What would fill the hole that is troubling him? The ache makes him consider what his other options may be. Maybe electrical power is not the solution? It felt nice, but eating and eating, until he is incapacitated, solves nothing in relation to the ache. It also had the unfortunate side effect of leaving him vulnerable as his limbs had barely worked long enough to get him to this relatively safe place. 

The blue man reviews information that is stored in his head, seeking out solutions that humans turned to in order to fill the void in their lives. Maybe this is caused by some sort of internal unhappiness? Money, charity, love, material wealth all come to his mind. All ways to fill the hole that never seems to go away. Geisterfahrer feels drawn to the idea of amassing wealth and material possessions. Gold, jewels, money. He had already robbed a store for his clothes and the city of its power. He reviews some more of the information in his head. In order to stay free and enjoy the spoils of robbery, he needs to make some devices to help him. He quite liked the idea of becoming an inverter, creating something for himself that would come from and belong to no one else. Geisterfahrer tries to stand, but the amount of power thrumming through his veins prevents him from rising. 

‘New plan. Do stuff after this buzz wears off. Also, never absorb this much electricity again.’

He slumps his head back down onto the floor, giving up on moving. Watching the lighting zip across his body, Geisterfahrer wonders how long it will take for this power to fade away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOh Power outage! I actually get a lot of those where I live. Trees fall on the lines all the time during storms.   
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	4. Chapter 4

Freakazoid dashes through the streets of an eerily silent city. Nothing moves, aside for the occasional rustle of leaves stirred by passing breezes. Normally there would be cars filling the streets with their clatter, noises coming from houses, or the sound of that lone jogger; the one who thinks any time of the day and all sorts of weather are the best time and conditions to go for a run. He skids to a stop in front of the police station. Hopefully, Cosgrove would be there to help him get a better idea of what is going on. Freakazoid dashes inside, finding his good friend Cosgrove and his mentor Roddy.

“Cosgrove! Roddy!” 

“Ah, Freakazoid. Good to see you laddie.” 

“What are you doing here Roddy?”

“He was trying to get back to your place to tell you about a small power drain when the power for the whole city was suddenly taken and the city went on lockdown.”

Cosgrove answered for the Scotsman. Roddy nods along. Freakazoid bounces in place and Dexter pushes him to ask a question for geek.

“Did you find the source of that first power drain?”

Freakazoid is very careful to keep Dexter’s words the same as his best friend had said them. 

Roddy shakes his head morosely.

“Nae. I found a punched out power box and a mask that looked like yers nearby at the IP address I tracked down. It was at some sort of clothing store. Not much to go on but that!”

Freakazoid nods. Then he asks a question of his own without prompting from Dexter.

“What do we do?”

“Well laddie, you oughtta go and stay home. I’m sure that the order ta stay off the street applies to you. There is nothing really that can be done. I think the military is being brought in and the police have the streets covered. I doubt your normals are going to be attacking and dif they do…”

Freakazoid nods and twidles his thumbs, understanding the threat towards his typical enemies. 

“So I should go home and do nothing? With no internet or power?”

Roddy sighs at Freakazoid’s distressed face at the prospect.

“Yew could work on meditating. I seem to recall yew could only being able to smack yer face wit a brick.”

Freakazoid reacts with a whine, pouting, Cosgrove pats the saddened teenager comfortingly offering up a few kind words.

“When the city gets out of lockdown, do you wanna grab a sno-cone?”

The hero nods half-heartedly, sighing sadly. Normally the offer would cheer him up, but the boredom he knows to be awaiting him dampens his spirit. He then waves at his two older friends and then bolts home. 

\-------------

Geisterfahrer happily hums along to the soft tune that is coming across the airwaves. It had been two days since he had first woken up. The cities power system had been repaired as he lay on the floor of the warehouse for a day and a half, but, according to the radio, the city is still in a state of lockdown. But some stations had started playing music again. He had found the small radio in the garbage dumpster behind the abandoned warehouse. He had also found some crumpled paper and different spare parts of machinery there. Currently, he is sitting on the floor, listening to the radio he had repaired, tinkering with a few wires, and working through a design. He let instinct move his hands as he fiddles and twists the metal and wires. 

Listening to music is such a strange thing. In his brief brush with the world wide web, he had absorbed some songs. Every time a new song came on he would either enjoy it like anyone else who had never heard a song before, or he would have an odd feeling of deja vu that he could sing every lyric if he so chose. He definitely preferred music that focused less on love and a bit more on life and disliked most slow songs. He had found, while spinning the dial of the radio, that he preferred metal and rock to pop and rap.

He clicks his tongue as he leans further forward, pulling his left leg forward to loop over his left arm. The feeling of stretching and the slight burn of it helped distract him from the pit that he is slowly growing accustomed too. Hopefully, once he has made several devices and the city slipped back to the normal he assumes it was before he arrived, he could start trying to address that hole with some goods. He hums along to the strong guitar solo, tapping the device as it sparks. Lovely. He stands and then goes back to the dumpster to gather more materials, careful to keep an eye out for anyone who might disturb him. This worry is for nothing as no one shows up in the many hours that pass. He completes several devices, feeding his own energy into some of them to be able to turn them on and test them.

Geisterfahrer lifts the device that is the size of his palm and then chucks it at the wall. It clings tightly to the flat surface. It begins to softly glow and Geisterfahrer attempts to exit through a door. He is thrown back by an electric barrier. He smiles happily from his position on the floor. Rising, the blue-skinned teen smirks to himself. It had worked! He then moves over to a window and opens it. He is thrown back once more when he attempts to exit through it. This time he uses the momentum to flip and land on his feet. He begins pacing the room, dragging a hand across the wall, determining the end of the range of the device. About the size of an average room, far less than the entirety of the warehouse. He would have to use more than one for bigger store heists. Now time to test the other component.

“Badaboom!”

He presses down twice on a button on a remote that is the size and shape of a ring with a large button on the top. The device smokes and then explodes. Best to have something he could quickly leave behind that would destroy its innards and any evidence within. It would also prevent people from reverse engineering an developing a prevention method.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop whoop. Planning and prep for later. I’m sorry about the accent of Roddy. He is Scottish I promise.   
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	5. Chapter 5

While power had been restored to much of the city the Douglas household was still sitting in the dark. It is the eve of the third day and Decter is sitting at his desk, shuffling a deck of playing cards. He cuts the deck and then bridges it back into a singular whole. Silently the teenager repeats the action. Then he slowly lays out the cards in the typical pattern of Solitare. Quietly, he starts going through the motions of playing the single-player game. Freakazoid mumbles quietly to himself in the background, watching some sort of show in the Freakazone. Apparently being this distant from a wifi source for so long made the buffering times absolutely horrendous. 

-Dexxy… Why don’t we do something  _ fun _ ?-

The hero whines petulantly. Dexter sighs, having been asked this several times. He sends soothing warmth across the link to try to relive his friend of some of the underlying anxiety. He calmly responds, trying to put his friend at ease. 

‘Well, I already studied for school. The computer has no power. We both have read all the books in my room a million times, and I am currently playing Solitare. Do you have any suggestions that don’t require power?’

The geek asks, interested to see if his friend can come up with anything. Freakazoid goes quiet and Dexter feels bad for the hero. They had never had to deal with something like this before, so it only makes sense that he would be out of sorts. Not only is there some sort of issue in the city that the hero cannot simply run out and solve, but there is nothing to quickly and easily distract his mind from the unknown threat. Dexter then gently invites Freakazoid to help him with the game, hoping that getting the other to work with him would help the hero. They do this for a little while, with Dexter calmly talking coaxing Freakazoid back into a better mood. He smiles to himself as the hero starts chattering like he normally would. He startles as his mother knocks on his door as she cracks it open.

“Honey, the rest of the family is downstairs, we are going to play monopoly. Care tp join us?”

The amount of boredom leads Dexter to agree to the offer he would usually refuse. He stands, leaving his cards at his desk. It had been a while since they had played a board game as a family. From experience, he knows this is unlikely to end well. Hopefully, they would end with another incident where his mother and father were in silent treatment for a month. Or that time Duncan had left deep splotches of purple bruises on his upper arms that had lasted for weeks. He pats his arm gently as he reminisces and then yanks his hand away when Freakazoid makes a noise of worry. He sends back some reassurance.

The board is already set up when he enters the dining room downstairs. His mother positions herself as the banker. Dexter looks at the remaining tokens and then pulls out the iron to put at Go. Freakazoid watches the proceedings with interest, curious to watch the gameplay out. 

Things quickly devolve from polite play to vicious cheating. Dexter’s father snatches up money from the bank as his wife is distracted. Duncan never paid rent on properties he landed on unless the person who owned the property was paying attention. Mrs. Douglas would give her self properties without paying for them when no one was checking her power and would stiff other players on their change. Dexter does his best to survive without giving in to the urge to put down houses and hotels without paying for them. He had to be an example for Freakazoid of good character. Turns consisted of long-winded trade agreements, blackmail, and deeply involved contracts about allegiances. Freakazoid happily curls up in Dexter’s mind, watching on like a bemused cat. Dexter is the first to go bankrupt and counts himself lucky to have no one holding long term grudges against him. He is soon followed by his father who grumbles a little. Duncan survives a little longer before his ultimate defeat.

\------------

Geisterfahrer tucks his loose hair into a bun quickly making his way through the alleys, trying to avoid the main streets. The government had removed the state of emergency after a week had gone by and power had been restored to the entire city. The official report was that it had been a false alarm and the government is apologetic while falling on the old saying of better safe than sorry. The blue-skinned teen has his doubts about the truthfulness of their statement. Geisterfahrer takes a quick glance at the main street, catching sight of the people who are walking past, living their normal lives. He feels a deep bitterness towards them. Any one of them could have been part of his abandonment. Who was it? He bites the inside of his cheek and forces himself to stop thinking about it. Dwelling on such things would not help with the empty pit near his heart. 

He spots the library and slips in. He makes sure to stay out of sight quickly glancing around. He spots what he is looking for. A lost and found box near to the entrance. Quickly he nabs an overly large hoodie and a pair of jeans. There is also a drawstring bag that he snaps up. He pulls the black hoodie over his head and then quickly moves to the bathroom. He slips on the jeans after taking off his red slacks and hopes that this outfit will be enough to keep eyes off of him. Geisterfahrer raises the hood. He knows his face skin is still pretty distinctive, but he figures this will work for now, until he can figure out how to cover that up.

Now he could do research and case places without people immediately recognizing him in his preferred, but distinct dress style. He carefully folds his slacks and slips them into the drawstring bag. He then exits the bathroom, picking up a thick history tomb before settling in the backmost corner of the library. He sits in a chair by a power outlet and places his gloved hand over it. He absorbs some electricity, not enough to impact his hair. He mainly focuses on connecting to the internet and quickly rifling through information while appearing to be reading the book. He quickly finds his first target and uses his access to find out every piece of information he needs 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have seen all of those actions taken in monopoly. Not all at once but hey, the Douglas family seems like the type.   
> 01001001 01100110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110011 01100101 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100001 00100000 01101101 01100101 01110011 01110011 01100001 01100111 01100101 00100000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01110100 01110101 01101101 01100010 01101100 01110010 00101100 00100000 00101000 01101000 01100101 01110010 01101101 01100101 01110011 01110011 01100101 01110010 01110000 01100101 01101110 01110100 00101101 01110011 01110100 01110101 01100110 01100110 00101001 00100000 01110011 01100001 01111001 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01111001 01100101 01100101 01110100 00100000 01110011 01101111 01101110 00101110


	6. Chapter 6

Dexter ducks his head as he tries to escape down the hall unnoticed. Unfortunately, after a week off of school, the jocks were more antsy than normal. The fact that they had been forced to stay indoors had raised their irritations. He winces as his shoulder is rammed by a taller teen. 

“Watch it, nerd.”

“Yes, sorry.” 

Dexter moves his feet faster as Freakazoid hisses. Dexter attempts to soothe his friend. Privately, in thoughts blocked from his best friend, Dexter wonders what Freakazoid would do if was unable to calm him after such small incidents. Would the hero snap? He shoves the thought aside in favor of dragging Freakazoid into a discussion about different foods. The hero had a broad range of tastes, loving all the extreme from super sweet to intensely spicy. Dexter prefers much more mild flavors, happy to settle for chicken strips at any and all restaurants instead of adventuring to try something new. Freakazoid huffs while stretching and then curling back on himself. 

-You need to try the Tri Ultimate Sundae at Ronald’s.-

‘No! I would die from a overdoes of either sugar or cold!’

Dexter responds lilting his internal voice to let Freakazoid know he is messing around.

-I would never let anything so extreme happen to you.-

Freakazoid responds in a deadly serious tone, causing Dexter to pause mentally as he sits at his desk. If that did not just give him the greatest rush of feeling protected. Dexter ducks his head with a smile.

‘Thanks. But seriously, I’m not going to eat that giant pile of icecream.’

-Aww. Fine. I’ll just have to eat it for you.-

‘You don’t have money?’

-Cosgrove would probably help me out.-

‘True.’

Dexter settles into his seat, talking with Freakazoid as class starts up where the teacher desperately attempts to get them back on schedule. Dexter silently wonders over the week they had been forced to stay home. Roddy and Cosgrove had found no further clues as to what had happened. He would need to help Freakazoid keep an eye out.

\-------------

Geisterfahrer straightens his tie one last time, excitement surging through his veins. He almost could ignore the burning hole. He takes a settling breath and then walks in. No one notices him at first and he takes the opportunity to walk to the back of the small store to further case the place and decide whether to use his devices. While there he takes note of some makeup items, like concealer, he could use to cover up the blue tone of his skin. He pockets them, figuring that he was already going to rob the place of its money. He has little care as to what negative impact this robbery will have on this store. He moves back to the front of the store noting the lack of anyone in the store and slams his hands down on the counter. The teller looks terrified at the single register. He gives a large insincere smile as he lets spark dance across his skin. Maybe he could pull this off without having to use up any devices. 

“Hi-yah! Id like all your money. Here’s a bag. Fill it.”

He puts down a string bag, a different one from the one he had picked up at the library. The teller shakily moves, but he reacts fairly quickly, filling up the bag as Geisterfahrer tosses in a candy bar for the fun of it. He can hear sirens and he shoots the teller a frown. 

“Aww, you just had to call the cops? Welp. This is enough for me. Tootals loser.”

He snatches the bag off the counter and bolts out of the shop. The sirens are close. He slides into a nearby alley and climbs up onto the roof. He begins to run as fast as he can. Suddenly he transforms into an electric bolt, flying across the city at record speeds. He trips near his warehouse, and gasps as he catches himself. His hair falls in front of his face as he clutches as his growling stomach. He sucks in a breath and pulls his hair back into a bun using a black scrunchy he had found tossed away on the street. Geisterfahrer lets out a soft giggle feeling adrenaline racing through him. It felt so weird to have such excitement and buzz but also feel so horribly hollow and dreadfully hungry.

He smiles broadly to himself before ducking into the warehouse. Sadly, his current home lacked electricity, due to its abandoned nature and he had used up far, far more energy than he had initially planned. He sighs, irritated. He slips on the jeans and hoodie, leaving his slacks and tailcoat in the money bag. Geisterfahrer takes out some of the cash and slips it into his jeans pocket. Before he leaves he pulls out the concealer, and a shard of a mirror he had found. Carefully, he dabs and mixes the substance onto his face. When he looks less blue and a little bit more of a very pale pink that looks a little sickly, he leaves. He casually makes his way to the library, humming a little as he goes. Perhaps he could look into some songs and see if he could not have some music stored in his head. The thought spurs him to walk faster. This time he picks up a computer book, having found out last time that he can read and browse the web simultaneously and still recall and use information gleaned from both sources. He walks back over and sits by the outlet once more. 

He draws power slowly from the building, at no faster rate than a typical phone charger. Geisterfahrer quietly reads through the book, looking for all the world completely opposite of what one would expect of someone who had robbed a store earlier that day. He lazily sprawls across the chair, somewhat content to no longer be hungry. But still, the ache remains an irritant that grates his nerves. The robbery had distracted him a bit. Perhaps pulling off a bigger heist would help? He leaves this question to ponder later. For now, he had found a band that intrigued him immensely, playing the genre of music that he liked, but with historical themes. He spends the rest of the afternoon like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Im Dexter. I go to seafood restaurants and order chicken strips. I am not sorry. Also, first robbery!! The code below leads to a more complex puzzle. Good luck!
> 
> 01000111 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101000 01110100 01110100 01110000 01110011 00111010 00101111 00101111 01101000 01100101 01110010 01101101 01100101 01110011 01110011 01100101 01110010 01110000 01100101 01101110 01110100 00101110 01110111 01101001 01111000 01110011 01101001 01110100 01100101 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101 00101111 01101000 01101111 01101100 01101100 01101111 01110111 00100000


	7. Chapter 7

Freakazoid makes his way down the street eyes peeled for the new villain. He had robbed a couple of different places, slowly pulling bigger and bigger jobs. It was weird, as the villain looked like him. Kind of. Dexter’s first reaction to Freakazoid when Cosgrove had shown them a picture yesterday was, “At least he has a suite so people can tell he’s not you. You’d never wear something so formal for so long ‘Zoid.” Freakazoid had to agree with the sentiment. He lets out a small trill, as he looks about. Sometimes he could not hold back vocalizations, and more often than not he did not even make the attempt. It never seemed to bother the people that mattered to him like Cosgrove or Dexter. He skirts around a corner and then freezes as Dexter yells. 

‘Wait! There is something wrong with that building.’

Freakazoid’s eyes snap onto the jewelry store and he now noticed the outside seemed to buzz and spark. He moves towards it and gently places his hand on the wall. He yanks it back as he is suddenly zapped with electricity. Before he can react, it disappears and the new villain comes leaping out of the store with a drawstring that appears to be full and heavy.

“Hey! You!”

Freakazoid’s mind is unable to come up with a more distinctive way to get the attention of the other. The villain turns with a quirked eyebrow and a vicious smile that hauntingly reminds Freakazoid of Gutierrez. He shakes the thought as his sort of doppelganger responds.

“That’s rather rude. I do have a name, Mr. Hero.”

Freakazoid bounces on his feet, wanting to charge forward, but also knowing getting more information would be useful. Dexter gently prods him into asking.

“What is it? I’m Freakazoid.”

“Charmed. I’m Geisterfahrer. Now, I’ll be on my way.”

Freakazoid darts forwards and blocks his path.

“I can’t let you do that Geisterfahrer! Give up the bag and I won’t have to wrassle you.”

Freakazoid gives his own disarming smile as the villain pretends to think and then slowly shakes his head.

“I think I’d rather see you try to catch me!”

The villain leaps away and Freakazoid surges forwards. They both begin to dash through the city slowly getting faster. Freakazoid leaps up and bounces of a wall, almost landing a direct hit onto the villain. Geisterfahrer ducks at just the right moment and avoids the kick. Freakazoid starts letting his mouth run on its own.

“Are you related to Gutierrez? You guys have similar smiles and he had blue skin for a bit.”

“Who?”

The villain asks as he throws his own punch that Freakazoid leans away from.

“He’s like my greatest enemy. A big weenie. But I guess you not knowing about him is understandable. I don’t think I’ve heard about you talking with the other town villains.”

Geisterfahrer flips just beyond the reach of Freakazoid’s grasping hand.

“Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of talking to any of them.”

“Well, they are mostly nice. Gutierrez is the worst but he’s not in their group chat so…”

“I’ll have to work on that I suppose.”

The villain says while twisting away. Freakazoid is struck by how normal the conversation feels as they fight, with Geisterfahrer not commenting on the oddness of the conversation like most of his normals did at first. 

“Do you like techno?”

Another missed punch by the hero. Might as well try to get more information. Dexter quietly whispers that music genre might not be the most important thing, but does not try to stop him, which Freakazoid appreciates. The villain dodges backwards while quickly answering.

“No. I prefer metal honestly. But, I’ve got places to be. ~Tootals hero~!”

The doppelganger then transforms into a beam of light and vanishes up into the powerlines. Freakazoid knows he could follow but it would almost be impossible to track where the other had gone. He kicks the ground in frustration and then moves back towards the store, hoping to catch Cosgrove and tell the older man what he had learned. Dexter mentally sends reassurances that slowly help to brighten his mood.

‘Hey, it’s okay. You didn’t know he could shift to lightning mode like you. Youll be more prepared next time Freak!’

-Yeah. Your right. And I got his name!-

‘See! You did good.’

Freakazoid smiles, ducking his head at the praise. 

\----------------------

Dexter curls into the couch present in the Freakazone, focusing on the small television that Freakazoid currently has tuned into a movie. The Freakazone felt odd in comparison to his own mental room, which consisted of a bed, some shelves, and a computer. He felt generally protected here, safer than anywhere else in the world. 

Freakazoid laughs jovially at a joke in the movie that also moves Dexter to snort. Its a Saturday night, their normal night for hanging out in the mental plane together. They had started this tradition about a month into Freakazoid joining Dexter. The geek had found that it comforted him to be able to see his friend’s face every once in a while. He closes his eyes for a second, reveling in the safety and warmth. Here, he cannot feel the bruises left by life nor the stress created from worrying over the heroics of his friend. Here he knows that he is safe and Freakazoid is safe and that’s enough to get him through another week. He opens his eyes and bumps his forehead against his best friend’s shoulder. Freakazoid pauses the movie and looks to him ready to listen. Dexter smiles, as Freakazoid is one of very few that would take the time to truly hear him. Dexter keeps leaning against him tilting his own head slightly to look up at the hero.

“Freak, you know I really appreciate you being here right?”

The hero pulls his arm up and then drops it over Dexter’s shoulder. 

“Hey, I appreciate you too Dexxy. I don’t plan on going anywhere, if that’s ok?”

Dexter widens his smile. 

“Of course. Stay as long as you want.”

Freakazoid ruffles his hair and the slowly answers with a cautious look on his face

“Is forever ok?”

The hero whispers, some hesitation there. Dexter pats the arm that lays on his shoulder. 

“Definitely. You're the best friend anyone could ask for.”

“Thanks.”

The movie starts back up and Dexter goes back to feeling safe and comfortable in silence. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now they’ve met! Whoot Whoot! Okay so this code is for a game but the rest of the binary from chap 8-10 is just fun stuffs. If you need help with any of the games let me know here or on my tumblr, hermesserpent-stuff!   
> 01000111 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101000 01110100 01110100 01110000 01110011 00111010 00101111 00101111 01101000 01100101 01110010 01101101 01100101 01110011 01110011 01100101 01110010 01110000 01100101 01101110 01110100 00101110 01110111 01101001 01111000 01110011 01101001 01110100 01100101 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101 00101111 01100100 01100101 01111000 01110100 01100101 01110010


	8. Chapter 8

Geisterfahrer snatches up a few blankets and stuffs them in a bookbag that he is also stealing. He had not been noticed quite yet, or maybe he had and the store workers are waiting for the police to come and “deal” with him. Whatever. He picks up another item that catches his eye. He then hears the clearing of a throat. He tilts his head slightly to spot Freakazoid. He had had several run-ins with the local hero over the last week since he had first met him and, honestly, he did enjoy it. It is the only conversation that he really has. He would almost consider the other blue teen to be his friend. He has pretty strong doubts that he had anything to do with his abandonment and so lets himself feel somewhat friendly to the other. 

“‘Sup Zoid.”

“~Nothing much!~ I saw the biggest cow I’ve ever seen today! It was HUGE!”

This statement is followed by an attempted tackle that Geisterfahrer dodges.

“Really? Where was it? I might visit later.”

“South of the city by several hundred miles. But you won’t be able to go, ‘cause you’re going to be locked up! How’s your day been Geist?”

Geisterfahrer laughs at how causally Freakazoid speaks of an arrest that will never happen. 

“It’s good. Just grabbing some stuff for my home. And you’re never gonna catch me Zoid.”

“Illegally grabbing stuff!”

Freakazoid says with a look of disproval as he throws a punch. 

“Yes.”

Geisterfahrer responds leaping atop a shelf and begins quickly running while carefully balancing. Freakazoid is right on his tail and the villain is slightly impressed that Freakazoid is still managing to balance atop the shelves and almost reach him while cartwheeling. The hero lets out a trill and the leaps, causing them to both hit the floor as he tackles Geisterfahrer. The villain kicks him off and keeps running, knowing that if he can just make it outside, he will be able to get away. Freakazoid lets out a yell and Geisterfahrer laughs jovially at the frustration of the hero. He dashes outside, taking a quick glance around. There are several cop cars and guns are trained on him. He gives a wave then transforms into a bolt of energy and escapes upwards into the power lines. When he arrives home he tosses the new items into a pile with the others. Despite having been on a week-long spree, he still feels just as hollow as the start. He frowns, dragging his gloved hands over the numerous items he had collected. Each time he had felt exhilaration snatching up the items but each time he is left hollow, empty. Starving in a way he cannot feed. 

\-----------------------------------------

Freakazoid growls as Dexter slowly backs up from the group of jocks. It seems that they had decided to blame Dexter for their own failure to pass the last math test. The small teen already had bruises blooming on his arms from their abuse.

“You’re not going anywhere, nerd!”

The label is spat out with such venom that even Freakazoid flinches form his safe place within Dexter’s mind.

-Let me out! Let me beat them!-

‘I cant. You know I can’t. It would ruin your secret identity forever. And plus, that’s an abuse of power to ask you to use it just for me.’

Freakazoid can hear the fear and resignedness of Dexter’s voice as the teen hits the wall with his back. 

-My powers are always for you first. Let me help!-

‘Be here for me when it’s over. You know as well as I that no one else will be. I’ll need you.’

-I’ll always be there Dexxy.-

Freakazoid says sadly but full of promise. He gets warmth in return but is shuttered away from the real world. Dexter often would do this with beatings he felt were ‘too intense’ for Freakazoid. The geek was probably right in that regard. Freakazoid might just commit a murder in his own rage were he to have the vivid details and if it were not for the time given between the beatings and him being free. Dexter continues to send him vaguely warm reassurances until a while has past and he can see out once more. Dexter is crying softly while in one of the school’s bathrooms, wiping the blood away from his nose. 

-Oh, Dexter.-

‘It’s fine. It’s all fine.’

Freakazoid sends over waves of comfort and warm, whispering words of comfort. Dexter slowly takes deep breaths and re-steadies himself, tears wiped away. Freakazoid feels dreadful rage beating against every inch of his being but he swallows it down. Dexter wanted him to be a hero, not someone driven by hate. The geek then hesitantly asks a question.

‘Can… Would it be... I mean… would it be okay if we went to the tech store. Just for a little while? I know it would cut in on patrol...’

-Of course Dexter. Anything you want to do. You know what, why don’t we just not patrol today? We can go to the tech store and then go home and you can come into the Freakazone. I have a new game and we can test it out together. I’d rather spend the afternoon with you than going on patrol.-

Freakazoid says, doing his best to sound upbeat and it slowly skids into rambling. Dexter gives a wet chuckle and Freakazoid sends as much warmth as he can manage. Dexter ducks his head and Freakazoid fiddles with his metaphysical hands. He watches through Dexter’s eyes as the geek goes into the store and tries to relax while looking at different mice to replace his current one. Freakazoid offers his own opinions on the matter, using references from the internet. Suddenly the window shatters and glass flies everywhere. Dexter squats behind a shelf and Freakazoid can feel his feat spiking as Geisterfahrer stands amongst the glittering shards.

-It’s okay. Dexter it’s going to be fine.-

Freakazoid promises. 

Dexter takes a few deep breaths as everyone else in the store begins to scream. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof poor dexter.   
> 01001000 01101111 01101110 01100101 01110011 01110100 01101100 01111001 00101100 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01000110 01110010 01100101 01100001 01101011 01100001 01111010 01101111 01101001 01100100 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01110011 01101101 01100101 01101100 01101100 00100000 01101101 01100101 01110100 01100001 01101100 01101100 01101001 01100011 00100000 01101111 01110010 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01101001 01100011 01100101 00100000 01100011 01110010 01100101 01100001 01101101 00101110 00100000


	9. Chapter 9

Geisterfahrer freezes as he enters the store. For the first time since he had awoken he feels satisfied. Like eating ones fill at the table or laying out in a patch of warm sunlight on a cold winter's day. The teen feels sort of intoxicated, unable to form full thoughts inside of his head. Words bubble in his mind, lacking true direction. He stumbles forwards, then catches himself. He wanted to, no, needed to find the source of whatever is making him feel this way. He never wanted to go back to being achingly hollow. His mouth feels slightly sour, but he can ignore the feeling with the fullness of his soul. People in the store are starting to move during his moments of silence. Geisterfahrer tries to draw himself together, but it is like trying to push away a rush of caffeine on an empty stomach. Doable, but hard. The blue man lets out a yell that instantly still all people that are in the store. He turns to someone wearing a uniform. 

“Where is that power coming from?”

A direct question, as his mind is too distracted to come up with a witter set of words. The employee turns white, mumbling. Geisterfahrer lifts the man by the collar of his shirt, a crazed smile revealing his teeth.

“Let’s try this again. Where is the power coming from?”

“ l- I don’t w-w-work here. I’m on break from th-the fast-food joint d-down the road.”

Geisterfahrer sighs dropping the man. He throws out two of his own devices, which electrify the walls and doorways, making it impossible for anyone to leave. It had the added side effect of destroying the security cameras, causing them to pop and shatter down onto the civilians who scream once more.

“Now we all get to stay here! So, who can tell me where the power is coming from? You’re no leaving till I ~know~!” 

Geisterfahrer sings out, lilting his voice in an overly friendly way. He claps his hands together, gazing around the room. He needs to figure this feeling out soon, or something might snatch it away once more. Someone in a different uniform slowly raises her hand, her face pale. Geisterfahrer zeros in on her and flashes to stand right in front of her. 

“You work here?”

“Yes, um, sir. Our generator is in the back room… Is that what you mean by power source?”

Geisterfahrer rocks back and forth for a moment, thinking. Could this relief from constant hunger for power be from a mere generator? Maybe… He should check it out just in case. He tugs the employee to her feet, pushing her on the back. She stumbles slightly and then leads the villain to the back of the store behind the counter, not too far from the main part of the store. When they arrive at the generators, he still feels satisfied but he can tell it is not from these things. The satisfaction feels as if it could break at the slightest breath, like waking in a warm pile of blankets and dreading the arrival of a loud alarm that would ruin the peace. He turns, reentering the main area of the store where the feeling is less stretched. 

\--------

Dexter tucks into himself behind the shelf as the cameras explode violently over his head. Just his luck, a beating by the jocks, and then a villain attack. But no one is in the aisle with him, he has the opportunity to dip on the situation and let Freakazoid handle it. He peeks out, discovering that the villain is being led to the back of the shop. Quickly, he checks around himself once more to be safe and whispers the magic phrase.

“Freak out.”

-I got this Dexter! Don’t worry.-

‘I know.’

Dexter smiles as the hero leaps over the shelf that divided him from the rest of the populace in the store. Suddenly, a scream is echoing through the building, filled with pain and longing. Dexter flinches back in the Dexterzone in slight horror as Geisterfahrer yowls and screams like a soul in the throes of torment. 

\---------

Geisterfahrer screams at the sudden loss, the hollow smashing into his stomach. It aches in his gut, much like homesickness in a child that had never been away from home that is now at a camp. He wants to retch. He wants to cry. He settles for screaming and howling at the ache that is so familiar to him. Why could it not have stayed gone? Who shoved it back into him? Geisterfahrer draws himself together, anger starting to override the pain. He had promised himself when he first woke up that he would let nothing stand in his way of what he wanted. And what he wanted, beyond anything else in the world, far above any desire for riches, is to feel unhallow once more. He feels more rage than he had in his whole time awake. He snarls viciously and catches sight of the cities hero. Good. He is in the mood for a fight. He leaps forward with a screech. Freakazoid looks startled, backing up as Geisterfahrer swipes at his face.

“Hey! Woah! What’s wrong?”

The concerned tone almost makes the suited teen gag. 

“You’ve done this. Why have you done this!?”

He screeches, rage burning through his gut, limbs flailing, trying to land a hit. He had felt friendship with this hero! He had been betrayed! 

“What have I done? Please stop and tell me. I’ll help you.”

Geisterfahrer lifts the hero and chucks him into the electrified wall. Freakazoid yelps in pain. Good. The villain bars his teeth, rushing forward. Freakazoid dodges causing Geisterfahrer to smash face-first into the wall. Sparks being to fly across his skin. Freakazoid looks concerned.

“That can’t feel good. Geist? I really have no idea what I did! Please let me help.”

The villain tightly wraps his arms around his torso, subconsciously trying to squeeze out the feeling of wrongness that lingers. He retches, shaking violently. The words of assurance and the scraping hollow are cutting on opposite ends of his nerves. He cannot take it. He presses the button twice on his ring and then dashes out of the store, leaving more empty than he had started the heist. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hollow boi has a mental break down. Ah YEET goes his rational thoughts.   
> 01000111 01100101 01101001 01110011 01110100 01100101 01110010 01100110 01100001 01101000 01110010 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110000 01110010 01101111 01100010 01100001 01100010 01101100 01111001 00100000 01110011 01101101 01100101 01101100 01101100 01110011 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01100010 01110101 01110100 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101111 01110010 00100000 01101101 01100101 01110100 01100001 01101100 01101100 01101001 01100011 01101001 01110011 01101000 00101110 00100000


	10. Chapter 10

‘That was… Oh Freakazoid, I’m not sure what happened there.’

Dexter rubs his arms inside of the Dexterzone. Freakazoid stares blankly ahead in the physical world. 

‘Im sure there was nothing you could have done better. He looked like he was panicking and dealing with some sort of strong emotion.”

-Like a panic attack?-

‘Maybe. Can… can we go home? I’d really like to play your game now.’

Part of this request is a real desire to go home; another part is a desire to get Freakazoid to stop hyper-fixating on his failure to calm down the villain and give aid. 

-Right. Sorry. It’s, it’s just… I’ve started considering him a friend like the Lobe… and him going nuts like that…-

Dexter sends comfort across the link, and Freakazoid mentally leans into it. Dexter sighs. It is understandable that his friend had taken a liking to Geisterfahrer. The villain seemed to be able to hop onto Freakazoid’s wavelength, and they did look quite similar. Mistakable for brothers. Dexter sighs as Freakazoid zooms home after delivering a report to Cosgrove. Dexter blinks at his bedroom as he takes over and then rubs at his eyes. Time to go in and do damage control. He plops down on his bed, deftly removing his glasses, and then falls back. When he next opens his “eyes” he is back in his mental room. He quickly runs over and opens his door. Freakazoid is kneeling in front of the TV but looks to be in a daze. Dexter reacts before he can think, rushing forwards and wrapping the hero in a tight hug as he kneels with him. 

“Whatever was going on with Geisterfahrer, I’m sure it was not your fault. I think you were just the closest target he could try to fork blame over too.”

Freakazoid turns and buries himself into the hug. Dexter pats and consoles, knowing that the hero had never had to deal with someone he liked getting angry with him for little apparent reason. Unfortunately, Dexter is quite knowledgeable in this area, having suffered from a multitude of betrayals along these lines in his life. Its how he had stopped trusting his brother. He feels Freakazoid slowly pulling back and Dexter lets him go. The blue teen wipes at his face, and shoots Dexter a smile.

“Sorry. Not very heroic of me to be breaking down over a villain.”

“No need to apologize. Heroes are allowed to cry too.”

Dexter pats his taller friend’s arm and then reaches out to the game and begins plugging it in. Freakazoid bumps his shoulder gently and Dexter can tell that the other is going to be okay for now. He then moves to the couch as Freakazoid turns on the tv. They begin to play. The game is some sort of SCP Foundation. Dexter yelps at the jumpscares, but enjoys the company and game. Trying to think through the game’s situation seems to have captured Freakazoid’s thoughts. Dexter takes the opportunity to think over the situation with Geisterfahrer privately, blocking Freakazoid from his thoughts. That reaction had been violent. But what was it a reaction too? It had happened almost immediately after he and Freakazoid had switched. But it could not be related. Right? Dexter pushes the thought aside. He goes back to focus in on the game before him, yelping as he suddenly dies to a horrifying monster. He laughs after he realizes that he had jumped violently at jumpscare. 

\-----

Geisterfahrer sobs into the floor as he clutches his arms around his torso. It is so much worse than it had ever been. So much worse. He feels so empty. He has not been able to force himself to do anything, instead of laying on the cold floor for two days. Hunger has started to accompany the empty rolling pit in his soul. He should go to the library and get some electricity. Perhaps he could also do some research to try to figure out what happened, or maybe just develop a plan to take down Freakazoid. Geisterfahrer feels certain that the other blue teen had something to do with this. 

The teen slips into the library, makeup, hoodie, and jeans all in place. His posture is hunched, arms wrapped tightly about his stomach. He feels sick still. He draws the concerned glance of the librarian, but he ignores it, picking up a book at random about computers. He slides into his normal chair. He nips at the hollow of his cheek as he begins to draw in power, a small reminder to himself not to take too much at one time. Slow. Steady. Geisterfahrer begins to mentally review all the information he has on the city’s hero. Sadly there’s not too much that could help. Especially if he is trying to figure out if the hero is indeed responsible. Maybe… Maybe he had been too hasty? Perhaps. The other teen had seemed so confused. Geisterfahrer continues to gnaw the inside of his mouth. But, the hollow had come instantly before he caught sight of the hero. He closes his eyes, trying to think through his problem. He only had one instance to think over. He would only be sure of the other’s involvement if it happened once more. But, It would be a good idea to try to make up some sort of plan to deal with Freakzoid anyways, just in case.

The villain slowly draws on the internet and his past conversations with the hero. Who was it that he had once mentioned as a ‘greatest enemy’. The blue teen thinks quietly to himself, trying to drag the name back up from his memory. It comes to him. Gutierrez. If anyone were to know about the hero, it would be his worst nemesis. Geisterfahrer clenches the fist that is not against the outlet. He still felt a lot more violent than normal. Perhaps that would help him with the upcoming interaction. He enters into any all systems, searching out data on this other villain, tracking it down to a warehouse on the opposite end of the city from him. Good. He would suit up and head out there tomorrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad times abound. I didnt start this story off with the idea that Freakazoid was going to be pally with the villain. Im sorry to both of them and Dexter.  
> 01000100 01100101 01111000 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110000 01110010 01101111 01101100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01110011 01101101 01100101 01101100 01101100 01110011 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01101101 01101001 01101110 01110100 00100000 01101111 01110010 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101111 01101011 01101001 01100101 01110011 00101110


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to those who read The Sting of the Past! This chapter is basically that plopped right down into the story. A new game starts in the end notes though!

Gutierrez sits in front of his organ, pondering what song best expressed how he currently feels. Perhaps a nice slow ballad to show his unending sorrow at his newfound ugliness. Or perhaps a joyful tune at the wreckage of the city at the hands of something he suspected to be his own creation. He presses a key experimentally, seeing how it makes him feel.

“No, no, no. Too... high.”

He presses a lower note. Ah. Better. His musical process is interrupted by a throat clearing. Gutierrez turns, expecting to see his assistant, but is instead faced with a version of his greatest foe. But something is off. The blue man is wearing a red tailcoat with a yellow button-down and black tie. The upper-scale dress sense clearly indicates that this is not his heartily hated enemy. 

“Hi-yah.”

The imitation grins, tilting his head. Bouncing up and down, the blue creature radiates energy from the tips of his spiked hair down to his clean black and white dress shoes. 

“Ah… I was expecting you.”

Gutierrez says, lying through his teeth to hold an air of mystery.

“No you weren't, you old fart!”

“I am not an old fart!!!”

The imposter raises his eyebrows at the man's outburst, which immediately had lost Gutierrez his chances at being mysterious. The old fart grumbles, slouching a little before regaining his perfect posture. 

“I was wondering when you would visit me, imposter. After seeing you on the news… I simply did not know it would be now.”

The blue-skinned man narrows his eyes slightly, before relaxing back into a broad smile. 

“Yeah. Well, news on the street is you have the most knowledge on our lovely local hero.”

Gutierrez tilts his head. Then he steeples his hands, interest clearly written on his face. 

“Why, I certainly consider myself to be the foremost expert. But what interest doe this hold for you? Other being a failed attempt at imitation? Tell me what is your name, mimic? ”

The imposter tilts his head, a flash of irritation slipping across his eyes. 

“The names Geisterfahrer. And yeah lets just go with the idea Im a carbon copy of him and thats why Im interested.

“I’m not old!”

“Uh-huh.”

Gutierrez grits his teeth, wanting to smack the disconcerting grin from his failed creation’s face. Geisterfahrer leans back against the wall, a smirk dancing across his lips. He patiently waits for the hooded man to respond.

“A curious name. German is it? Ghost driver. German’s such an ugly common language is it not?” 

Geisterfahrer scrunches his nose at the insult but seems to let it roll over him. 

“Yep. Means a driver who travels on the wrong side of the road. Fits how I feel about my life. I don’t want to drive in the lane built for me when I woke up looking like some do-gooder. But, this conversation has gone off the tracks a bit. Back to our town’s hero. I want to know what you know.”

Geisterfahrer says this last bit calmly, looking at a gloved hand that he is flexing in front of himself. The tone is one that a person might adopt if they were inquiring about the weather. Gutierrez laughs haughtily, full of disbelief at the sheer audacity.

“And why would I tell you, you lackluster imposter?”

Gutierrez slams a hand down over a button, sending a cage crashing down from the ceiling. The bars hum lightly. Geisterfahrer raises his eyebrows, a small amount of delight shining through his perpetually smug expression. Curiosity carves its way across his tight smile as he runs a finger along the bars. Gutierrez approaches the cage, looking quite proud of himself. 

“I have captured you using the true physical weakness of the hero! As his carbon copy, you shall feel your strength sapped away by these negatively charged ion bars. I think that his emotional weakness a shared trait.”

“So that’s the secret to cut off his power?”

An air of thoughtfulness swirls around the mimic as he runs his hand through his gravity-defying hair. 

“But of course! If it was not you would be able to escape using the superpowers gifted by the internet. I wonder what kind of human host the flaw has empowered this time!”

The imposter nods, touching the bars again, seeming to be slightly fascinated with the second piece of information spilled by Gutierrez. 

“Thanks old fart. Youve been far more helpful than expected. Im going to be on my way.”

Gutierrez starts making insulted noises as Geisterfahrer slips a hand into his pockets unnoticed. The older man spits out his thoughts through the insulted look that falls upon his face that is quickly being wiped away by a devil’s smile.

“How could you be on your way? I have you in a cage! Im going to find out how you tick and who your host is! Then I shall create my ultimate clone of Freakazoid!”

Geisterfahrer pauses.

“You...You make clones?”

Its the first hesitation in his voice since the encounter had begun.Gutierrez is too swept up in imaginings of future glory to take note.

“Yes. I have made a clone of Freakazoid once before. It failed to fool people so I threw it out. Its parts are likely still a garbage heap somewhere. However, now I have a chance to overcome past failures!!”

Geisterfahrer scowls at the words, yanking a device from his pocket. He attaches it to the bars of the cage and after sending a small amount of his own energy into it, flips it on. Eclectic bolts dance across the metal, changing the charge of the cage. He clenches his fist and then punches the bars. Gutierrez steps bakc, shock staining his body movements.

“You know, I was going to just get some info and leave.  _ Maybe  _ rough you up for the fun of it or if you were being particularly difficult. But now, I think I should just kill you.”

His face is blank, devoid of the emoting smirk or anything else that had once been there. It is cold and stony, lacking any hint of human sympathy. 

“What! How is this possible?”

“Clearly, you failed to pay close enough attention to the news when I started popping in. Old age must be bogging you down old man. You’re old news as the biggest enemy of Freakazoid. You failed to shore up your claim to that spot. ~It is the nature of time that the old ways must give in!~”

Gutierrez stumbles back further as Geisterfahrer marches forwards singing, electricity dancing across his body in ill-concealed rage. The ex-CEO is unsure where this hatred is coming from. His mind stumbles backward through the conversation. Could this now singing lunatic really be?? His thoughts are interrupted by Geisterfahrer rushing forwards and pinning him to the wall. His windpipe is being harshly smashed by the other’s arm. Desperation fills him at the sight of the empty red eyes that pierce into his soul.

“Wait!!! I can tell you the secret identity of Freakazoid’s host! I can tell you the secrets of your creation if you are the clone I think you are! Don’t want to know these things?!”

Geisterfahrer shakes his head, a vile grin carving its way across his face but it does not reach empty heartless eyes. 

“Nope. I think I can figure things out for myself. I’m fairly sure it works in my interest to rid myself of the problem of having another villain who knows things about me and my enemy.”

He presses harder, electricity streaking across his arms and burning into Gutierrez. He sings out a few more lyrics to cover the gasps of the older man. A flicker of happiness, no, elation lights the clones piercing crimson eyes that had been so dead. Gutierrez struggles but can gain no traction. 

“~It is the nature of time that that the new ways comes in sin.~”

\----------------------------------------

Geisterfahrer walks out of the warehouse, sweeping his limp hair up int a bun. He then pulls out another device, looping the song over and singing softly to himself. 

“~When the new meets the old, it always ends the ancient ways.~”

He grins, cackling as he turns and chucks his device at the warehouse. Upon its contact with the wooden frame of the building, it sets the building aflame. 

“~And as history told, the old ways go out in a blaze!~”

Geisterfahrer continues on his way, not looking back to the burning building that holds his creator. No one could control him with secrets about his past that he did not even know. He should find out it the old man had any secrets squirreled away about him on a computer server. And maybe something about that blue nuisance. He keeps walking, the hollow feeling that lurks constantly in his chest starting to scratching at his thoughts once more. He should probably go get some electricity to eat, as he had not expected to get so emotional and release so much energy. He fiddles with the black glove on his left hand that covers a string of letters and numbers on his palm. At least now he knows where it came from and he feels slightly calmer than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Game starts in the binary below. The binary for chapters 12- 14 will just be fun stuff for me.   
> 01000111 01100101 01101001 01110011 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110000 01100001 01110011 01110011 01100011 01101111 01100100 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110011 01101001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100111 01100101 01110100 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001 01110010 01110100 01100101 01100100 00101110 00100000 00001010 01101000 01110100 01110100 01110000 01110011 00111010 00101111 00101111 01101000 01100101 01110010 01101101 01100101 01110011 01110011 01100101 01110010 01110000 01100101 01101110 01110100 00101110 01110111 01101001 01111000 01110011 01101001 01110100 01100101 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101 00101111 01100100 01100101 01111000 01110100 01100101 01110010 00101111 01100011 01101000 01100001 01101100 01101100 01100001 01101110 01100111 01100101 00101101 00110011 00001010


	12. Chapter 12

Dexter rubs his arm as he walks down the street, bruises hidden just beneath his jacket. He shivers in the cold air. Rubbing his arms, the geek focuses on getting to his destination, the library. His teacher had assigned an essay that required one book as a source. He enters the building, quickly glancing around to find the right section. He finds it and scans through a couple of different titles and descriptions to find which would work for his essay. Freakazoid tries to help by doing quick searches on each book and Dexter is soon able to narrow it down to two books. He then decides to go peek at the computer book section to see if they had gotten any new codebooks. 

The geek spots someone else in the aisle, looking dazedly at the books that he is interested in. The taller teen has his hands tucked into his front hoodie pocket, eyes blank and shoulders hunched. Dexter rubs his arm with his hand, pooling his courage to talk to the other teen as he begins walking towards the other. Suddenly the other turns eyes wide at Dexter. The geek takes half a step back, pulling his arms up.

“Oh sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you! I was wondering if I could take a look at those codebooks?”

Dexter trails off nervously, shifting from foot to foot as the crimson of the other teen’s iriss stare at him. The other shakes his head, seeming to draw himself together. The black-haired teen speaks, seeming to pull the words together through a fog.

“Sure. Actually, do you think you can help me out? I'm trying to find something to help e better understand firewalls.”

Dexter bounces a little at the request, feeling a little excited to be able to help out someone in his area of expertise. Dexter nods while stepping forwards.

“Um, yeah. I can help! Just let me look at the books. I remember I looked at a while back that was pretty good, but I can't remember the name. But I’ll know it when I see it!”

Dexter then flushes and rubs the back of his neck realizing that he had been rambling at the other teen who looks a bit surprised.

“Sorry...”

“Nah. You're fine. So, you think you can-”

The taller teen then covers his mouth while yawning. 

“Apologies, what I was saying was; you think you can find the book?”

“Oh, sure!”

Dexter smiles and moves forwards as the other teen takes a step back. The excitement of sharing knowledge pushes away Dexter’s normally reserved attitude towards strangers. His eyes trail down the bookcase. Freakazoid pulls forward his past memories of the different books, helping him to more quickly go through the titles without pulling them out. He pulls out the book that he had been thinking about and a new book he had not read before. He hands the firewall book over to the teen. 

“Here you go. I remember that one as being pretty good.”

The other teen holds out his hand, before covering another yawn. He then takes the book from Dexter.

“Apologies again. Thanks um?”

The geek reacts to the unasked question with a smile.

“Oh, I’m Dexter. What’s your name?”

Dexter holds out his hand. The other teen blinks and then slowly responds.

“Hunter.”

Hunter takes his hand to shake and then pulls back after a zap of electricity.

“Sorry, static electricity is weird.”

“It’s okay.”

Dexter feels the worry that has been building this whole time shift to the forefront of his mind now that he is not searching for a book. He hesitantly speaks, tripping a little over his words.

“Hey, you look, tired? Um, I don’t want to pry or sound creepy, but you should probably sleep…”

Hunter stares at him as Dexter rambles getting more embarrassed at himself.

“I could make sure no one messes with you if you don’t have a safe place to sleep elsewhere. This is coming off as super weird. Jeez. I’m sorry, Hunter. Ahh.”

Hunter shakes his head and smiles brightly.

“No. That sounds nice. I haven’t slept in a while. Would it be weird of me to accept?”

“Probably a little,” Dexter laughs, “but, I offered.”

The black-haired teen snorts, before yawning again. They make their way to the back of the library where Hunter drops down into a chair holding to the book. Dexter sits himself down in a chair next to him and he starts looking through the books he had picked up for the essay. Freakazoid starts talking about information and tangential thoughts and ideas. Dexter pulls out a notebook and jots a few of the ideas down. 

\------------

Geisterfahrer hazily wakes up, warm and comfortable, and so full. His mind is fuzzy, humming lightly as he stretches awake. He can not remember what had been going on before he had fallen asleep. 

“Hey. Sorry, it’s been three hours and I’ve got to go home. Plus I think the library is going to close soon. It was nice meeting you Hunter! Hope the sleep helped and you enjoy the book.”

The villain blinks slowly, mind still battling against a comfortable fog as he nods slowly and offers a wave to the other teen. Suddenly he jerks forward to wrap his arms around his torso. Oh. Oh no. 

He can now distinctly recall what had happened. He had been looking at books to see if he could gather ideas about how to get information out of Gutierrez’s systems. Then suddenly his hollow had vanished, as it had in the tech shop. Geisterfahrer had glanced up to see a tiny teen, definitely not what he had expected. And now he had let the other get away with just a few scaps of knowledge. A name, the teen’s penchant for computers, a flighty nervousness, and his odd kindness. Not quite enough to track the other down. He stands, wobbling a little. Being full and then suddenly being empty is a rather jarring experience. Hopefully, he could run into Dexter again. He quickly notes the title of the book, saving it for the next time he comes to the library. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn’t plan on this but now we have another friendship. I’ve actually done this for someone. I knew them for a while before. Also it’s not unusual to catch people sleeping around the library at my college. I know this prolly came off as weird but I like the direction it is sending the plot!   
> 01000100 01100101 01111000 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110000 01110010 01100101 01100110 01100101 01110010 01110011 00100000 01000010 01100001 01100010 01111001 01010010 01110101 01110100 01101000 00100000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 01100100 01111001 00100000 01100010 01100001 01110010 00101110 00100000


	13. Chapter 13

Freakazoid watches the classroom with little interest as Dexter takes notes. He continues his chattering, going through a couple of different topics. Dexter taps his pencil against his notebook. The blue teen then shifts to a memory of the previous day.

-Do you think you’ll see Hunter today?-

‘I mean there’s always a random chance of running into anyone at any time in the city, so maybe? I don’t think he goes to our school, though. Plus I’m not going to the library today. So it doesn’t seem likely.’

-Aww, I was hoping that you could see your new friend!-

‘That’s a bit, presumptive? I’m sure if he had talked to me he would not have stuck around. He was asleep for most of the time he’s been around me.’

-Don’t say stuff like that Dexy. I’ve stuck around after talking to you! And we’re best friends.-

This gets a smile and a snort across the mental link. 

‘You’re stuck with me though.’

-No. You.-

Dexter ducks his head in the real world with a small snort. Freakazoid twirls inside the freakazone, moving onwards to another idea. Dexter continues on with his class. Freakazoid watches on as the geek moves out of the class and then the school building starting on his way back home. Dexter freezes as he catches sight of the same group of jocks from a couple of days ago. Freakazoid hisses.

-Dexter! Let me out! Imma grind them into dust!-

‘That’s a bit excessive. Don’t pick up bad habits from Cave Guy.’

Dexter ducks into a thicker portion of the crowd on the street. Freakazoid tenses as the jocks grow closer. 

-There is a corner store to your left. Duck into it.-

The blue teen instructs, disliking the idea of Dexter dealing with these guys again. The geek does so and moves away from the windows, deeper into the store, not really paying attention. He bumps into someone else. Freakazoid recognizes Hunter who looks to have been comparing brown eyeliners before Dexter had bumped into him.

“Hi, Dexter?”

The other seems confused, but not unhappy.

\--------------

Geisterfahrer blinks at the smaller teen. He had not expected to run into the hollow filler so soon. Dexter gives a half-smile of embarrassment.

“Oh hi, Hunter. Sorry for running into you. I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going.”

“Yeah, I could tell.”

The smaller teen looks even more embarrassed. Geisterfahrer continues to speak. 

“But it’s fine. Hows it going Dexter?”

“Fine. You usual school stress and all that.”

Dexter glances towards the front store windows for the third time, causing Geisterfahrer to turn to look.

“Expecting someone?”

“No… well kinda? I only came in here to avoid some people. But, um, so… How are you?”

The other stutters out. The taller teen tastes a slight sourness on his tongue and frowns to himself at Dexter’s jittery attitude. Whomever the smaller teen is must be bad news. Geisterfahrer clicks his tongue before responding. 

“I’m not doing too hot, but it’s fine. I did get to read that book you suggested this morning.”

Dexter lights up at this and the bitter taste on the taller teen’s tongue fades. 

“Really?”

“Yeah, really helpful actually. Got time to hang out and talk about it?”

He mentally crosses his fingers, not entirely sure how to keep the smaller teen around. But who could blame him? The most social interaction that he is used too is quipping at the local hero. Probably not the stratagem to employ in common conversation. Dexter, luckily, nods. 

“Yeah, sure. There’s a sandwich shop around the corner if you’re okay with a late lunch? I didn’t really eat at school.”

“Sounds fantastic.”

They move to the front of the store where Geisterfahrer buys the brown eyeliner. The taller teen starts up the conversation about the book, slowly pulling the thoughts and ideas out of his companion. Geisterfahrer, having never really eaten food before this point, watches carefully what his companion does and asks for a recommendation. A turkey sandwich provolone cheese. The taller teen also decides to test out Sprite for the first time. While listening to Dexter ramble in response to a question he had posed about one of the chapters, he takes the first sip of soda in his life. He freezes as the taste hits him and then he begins to sip more. He tunes back into Dexter quickly, bobbing his head to a statement that Dexter makes.

“Yeah, that’s about what I got from that chapter I just wanted to check again with you. So, got any other recs? You’ve done a stellar job so far.”

Dexter gives a small awkward laugh.

“I mean I can think of one other book? And I can offer some websites that can better get you resources for that kind of thing.”

Dexter narrows his eyes in thought, tapping his chin. 

“Other than that? I’m not sure. I picked up a book yesterday, but that was more about game coding. So that wouldn’t super help with understanding firewalls, which was your original interest.”

Dexter seems to get lost in his head. Geisterfahrer leans forward a little deciding to take this time to nibble at the sandwich. It felt very odd to have a solid mass slip into his stomach. At least he presumes it is going into a stomach, he is not entirely sure that he has one now that he is thinking about it. All the more reason to get into the old man’s network and rifle through his files. Dexter seems to return from his mental field trip.

“Sorry.”

“You’re fine.” 

The clone says dismissively a small smile crossing his face. He had his own thoughts he had been lost inside of and so could not hold it against Dexter for doing the same. The smaller pulls out a notebook from his book bag and begins jotting down something. 

“I’m making a list of the sources I can think of. There’s also one good book about whitehat hacking if that’s of any interest to you that I’m going to also add. It had some interesting thoughts about moral and legal issues with a technology-dominated world.”

“Oh, thanks. Having a list will be pretty helpful for not forgetting.”

“Yeah, sure thing!”

Suddenly a cop walks into the sandwich shop and approaches Dexter. The small teen seems to recognize him.

“Sorry to bother you when your hanging with a friend, but I need your help kid. Something is off about the computer.”

“Oh.. Okay Cosgrove. Here, Hunter, this is the list. My number’s at the top. If you wanted it. No pressure.”

The awkward teen is then whisked away and Geisterfaher freezes, eyes wide. This is the second time Dexter had vanished away with him not being able to react in time to keep the hollow from scratching and clawing its way back inside. But he is slowly getting used to having it return and not being dazed while it is absent. And this time, this time he has a point of contact for Dexter. Now he just has to get a phone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .   
> Poor Dexter. I ought to be nicer to him. But Im not going to.   
> 01000111 01100101 01101001 01110011 01110100 01100101 01110010 01100110 01100001 01101000 01110010 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110000 01110010 01100101 01100110 01100101 01110010 01110011 00100000 01010011 01101110 01101001 01100011 01101011 01100101 01110010 01110011 00100000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 01100100 01111001 00100000 01100010 01100001 01110010 00101110 00100000


	14. Chapter 14

Dexter fiddles with his phone, strung between hopefulness that Hunter will message him and dreading that the other will not contact him at all. Had he been too presumptuous? He sets aside the device to turn to his computer and start working on a rough draft for his essay. Freakazoid is quietly snoozing in his head, having been exhausted by an encounter with the Lobe that Cosgrove had picked Dexter up at the sandwich shop for. The odd-sounding snores remind him of a purring cat. He lets himself settle into a smooth rhythm of typing, listening to the snoring hero, and petting his cat. His mind becomes absorbed into writing the paper. An hour later he moves away from his screen, rubbing his face tiredly. He yawns and starts getting himself ready to go to bed. Freakazoid wakes up a little, mumbling tiredly. Dexter hums back to his friend soothingly and lulls the hero back to sleep. He then heads to bed himself.

The geek quietly sits by himself during the lunchbox at school the next day. He never really feels hungry while at school, preferring to eat once he goes home for the day. Sitting in a teacher’s classroom, he works to complete all of the homework that he can. Staying in a classroom meant not many people bothered him and he could ask questions if the homework he was working on was assigned by the teacher whose room he is in. He rubs his face gently and tiredly. His mind wanders to Geisterfahrer, who had not made an appearance since his break down at the tech store. This could potentially mean that the villain is planning something big or that the villain is still handling the mental break that seemed to have occurred. Freakazoid latches on to this thought train that Dexter has allowed to flow freely.

-Gosh. I hope its because he’s plotting and not because he’s struggling some where.-

‘Yeah. That would suck. We could try asking other villains and Cosgrove if they might have spotted him? We also haven’t really heard from Guitterez, which is another worry.’

-Ugggghhhhh. Don’t remind me of that weenie. Can’t we just be happy he is not popping up?-

‘You can be happy about it. It’s my job to worry over things.’

-But if you worry all the time, you’ll get stressed out.-

‘Mmm. It’s too late. I am the stress.’

-Nooo. Come on Dexy. No stress.-

Dexter feels a mental poke. He smiles, mentally sticking his tongue out in response. 

-I will fight the stress. Watch me.-

‘Sure Freak. Good luck. Every time I get over one stress there is always the next. Its kinda like a hydra. I’d be impressed if you manage to remove all of it.’

-Welp. If I can’t get rid of it, at least let me share in it.-

‘You have helped a lot already Freak.’

Dexter drops his joking mental tone, leaning back letting genuine appreciation slide across the link. He breaths slowly, taking in a deep full breath and slowly lets it out letting the stress fade away to the back of his mind. Freakazoid begins to chatter about lighter topics, slipping in some music streamed from the internet. 

\----------

Geisterfahrer fiddles with the phone he had picked up from the drugstore, applying the minutes he had also bought. He had found himself buying things with cash more often now, not wanting to go out dressed for crime. Plus the card would not activate if he stole it. He quietly leans against a tree while trying to get it to work. It beeps. He smiles to himself, clicking his tongue. Reaching into his drawstring bag, he pulls out the sheet of paper that Dexter had created for him yesterday. Sending off a text, Geisterfahrer stands, stretching his arms far above his head. It was a long shot that Dexter would text him, given that its the middle of the day, and school is in session. The villain makes his way to the library to start in on the list and see how far he could get into the knowledge. He sits in the back with a large tomb about psychology, happy to multitask while researching online. He had been unable to find the physical copy of the book that Dexter had recommended. 

He startles out of his research at a sudden buzz in his jean pocket. Slowly, he pulls his phone from his pocket. Its a text from Dexter, wanting to hang out. He quickly texts back and puts away the book. While researching online, he had found a pdf form of the book Dexter had recommended and had read it. He had some questions that he hoped the smaller teen would answer. His phone buzzes again, this time with a proposed location. Geisterfahrer quickly sends a text back confirming that he will meet up with the other. He bites the inside of his cheek as a ripple of pain curls through his torso now that his mind is not distracted. It is going to be okay, he reminds himself. He is going to see Dexter. The hollow will become full. He makes his way towards the pizza parlor that Dexter had suggested. 

The hollow begins to fade and Geisterfahrer instinctively begins to look around for the smaller teen. But then a deeply vile taste overtakes his mouth and the hollow begins to grow. Panic swirls in him as the villain begins to search around himself more quickly. His ears catch the faint sound of a struggle and he follows it. Rage immediately flows over him at the sight before him. A group of larger boys is standing around, looming over Dexter who seems to be trying to make himself as small as possible against the verbal barrage that looks seconds away from becoming physical. His blood boils. Then, before he can get down the alley, one of the larger teens punches Dexter in the gut. 

His mind whites out in anger and his growl draws the attention of all the others. He is on them in seconds, punches flying. They try to doge and throwback punches but Geisterfahrer dances around them, landing all of his hits. One flies into the side of the building. He then knocks out another two and grabs the apparent leader by his shirt. He slams the other teen’s head back against the brick of the building, while the other screams and struggles. Geisterfahrer moves to punch the guy’s face. Something stops his arm grabbing it. He shakes it off and punches the leader’s nose. It bleeds. He moves his arm back to punch again, but once more something stops him. He tries to shake it off.

“Hunter please please stop.”

He continues to hold the teen up, head turning to Dexter. His hair, which had come loose from the bun, falls over part of his face. The smaller teen has tears in his eyes, fear shining through. His mind returns to thought and his body shakes a little from the energy pouring into him from Dexter.

“Why?”

His simple question crashes over the pained gasps of the teen he is holding.

“They aren’t worth all this. It’s just a bruise. You don’t need to make them bleed. Please, Hunter.” 

He lets the teen fall and turns to face Dexter fully. The teen pales and backs up a little before wincing and clutching at his stomach. 

“Show me.”

“Not here. Hunter. You’re scaring me.”

Geisterfahrer blinks at the tears that are starting to stream down the small teen’s face. He breathes, trying to center himself. 

“Okay. Okay. You’re right. Let’s go.”

Dexter relaxes a little as Geisterfahrer takes a step away from the leader. He lets the smaller teen grab his arm and gently pull him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geisterfahrer gots some serious issues. But, hey, at least he listens! For now… Duh DuhDuh lol. Anyway hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it!!!!
> 
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	15. Chapter 15

Dexter is still shaking a little as he pulls the taller teen down the street. He still is mentally calming Freakazoid who had been itching to leap out and “wrassle” the bullies. He feels warm tears dripping from his eyes. He hates that Hunter had seen him like this. Dexter sucks in a trembling breath. Sudden warmth curls over from Freakazoid’s side of the link. The hero has calmed and is now trying to focus on supporting him. The small teen sends thanks back and continues to lead Hunter to his house, where the geek knows that there is ice. He starts to ramble to cover up the tense silence. 

“So were you able to get through any of that list that I gave you? I know it was a bit scattered with all those websites.”

Dexter continues to chatter along these lines with no interruptions from Hunter. Gosh, he must think he is such a loser and is getting ready to tell him to get lost and to let go of him.

-Dexy. Please don’t assume the worst. He just defended you. Like I should have.-

‘It’s okay. I don’t put any blame on you. And I guess you’re right about the defense.’

Despite his own mental words, Dexter is nervous, bile churning in his stomach. They arrive at his house which is empty. Dexter releases his friend and moves to the fridge and pulls out a premade bag of ice, something he had started keeping prepped. 

“How often does this happen?”

Dexter winces at the coldness of his friend’s voice and the chill of the ice when he puts the towel wrapped bag against his skin. 

“Often enough. It’s fine.”

The other growls and Dexter steps back with some of the fear that he had before rushing back over him. Hunter stares him down, hair laying about his head like a lions mane.

“This is unacceptable.”

“If they’re not picking on me, they’re messing with some other kid. That’s just how it is. I can take it.”

He tries, with a soothing tone to temper the flaming rage he can see building in Hunter.

“You shouldn’t have to put up with trash like them. I can go and take care of them right now.”

The larger teen makes a move towards the door. Dexter moves in front of him, standing straight for the first time. He cannot let this happen.

“No.”

“No?”

“Hunter. No. Revenge isn’t worth it.”

The taller teen moves forwards, and though he feels fear, Dexter stands still, shaking. Hunter’s red eyes narrow. 

“Don’t tell me whats worthwhile.”

He hisses out and puts his hand against Dexter’s shoulder to shove him out of the way. Dexter gasps and flinches away, the bruises given by his brother this morning in that location aching at the sudden touch. Now there is another batch of tears dripping from his eyes. Hunter freezes, looking unsure of himself for the first time in their conversation. Dexter breathes slowly.

“Look. I… I deal with this all the time. At home. At school. It’s incredibly kind of you to want to stand up for me. Honestly, only one other person has ever offered that. But, you can’t be there all the time and neither could he. It only gets worse if it’s reported or reacted to. I’m probably going to get a bloody nose next time… But better me than anyone else. It’s not worth it. I’m not worth it.”

Dexter sighs and begins curling into himself.

-Oh, Dexy…-

\------------

Geisterfahrer tenses at the words coming from the small teen. Dexter wipes his eyes. Geisterfahrer feels bad. The teen had just been attacked and now he is attacking him verbally. He did not want Dexter to stop hanging around him. They had only had one real conversation, but the villain feels attached. He steps back, running a hand through his tangled hair.

“Okay. Alright. I came off a bit strong. I’m sorry for hurting you. I never wanted that. You’ve been one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and I don’t want to distress you. But,” he looks Dexter dead in the eyes, ”you are worth fighting for.”

Dexter looks away. 

“Thanks. Well…. Umm… Since we’re here, do you want to play some games? I have a small old school tv and some plug and play games.”

Geisterfahrer nods and vocally agrees and then he thinks of something. He decides to try to extend the olive branch.

“Do you keep aloe vera in the kitchen?”

“Yes?”

“Sweet. I read somewhere that it would help make bruises fade.”

“Really?”

Dexter sounds genuinely interested and Geisterfahrer shoots him a smile. Inside, hidden from Dexter, he starts plotting revenge against the teens, adding it to his list of things to accomplish on his own time. He sets up one of the plug and plays while Dexter sheds his jacket to apply the aloe to his upper arms. The villain bites his tongue at the sight of the large dark bruises that stain the other’s arms. He did not want to start another fight so he looks away, shoving down another wave of anger ruthlessly into his gut. Dexter slips his jacket back on and plops onto the floor beside Geisterfahrer. 

“You get the first game, Hunter.”

“Thanks, Dex.”

The smaller teen shoots him a small crooked smile. They settle against Dexter’s bed frame facing the TV, passing the controller back and for as one of them dies. They chatter, mainly about the materials Geisterfahrer had read and the villain asks all the questions that he had come up with. Dexter happily replies. Geisterfahrer brushes his hair out of his face while asking about what other books he could look into. Dexter glances at him and then frowns a little. 

“You lost your hair tie.”

“Yeah. A real shame, cause I don’t have another on me.”

“I’ll go see if we have one somewhere in the bathroom. Mom used to keep some extras.”

The geek moves out of the room leaving Geisterfahrer to sit alone and think. He needs a plan to handle Dexter’s bullying problem. Though, if what Dexter said about it being at home there is not much he can reasonably do. Perhaps, being reasonable is not the solution he is a villain after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. Geist is getting to see some of the best and worst bits of humanity through Dexter’s existence. Yikes.  
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	16. Chapter 16

Freakazoid bounces on his feet as he walks down the sidewalk, glancing about to try and catch sight of any criminals. He feels pretty happy. Dexter had been spending every other day with Hunter reading and discussing a variety of topics at the library. The hero is excited that Dexter finally has someone else who wants to look after him. Hunter socking those bullies puts him near the top of his favorite people list outside of Dexter. Suddenly a Scottish voice yells out from behind him.

“Laddie! I need to tell yew somethin!”

“Roddy? What’s up?”

‘Wonder what this could be about? Probably nothing good.’

-Aw, don’t be so negative Dexy!-

‘Literally my only purpose Freak.’

The geek responds with a laughter-filled voice making Freakazoid smile.

“Someone hacked into Apex Industries. I left some alarms in their systems to let me know whenever an outsider pulled the file on the flaw and trying to figure out Guitierrez’s secret hideouts. I dinnae what we’re gonnae do bout someone diggin up yer past and tryin’ to track down Guitierrez’s hidden labs, if they haven’t already found them by now.”

Freakazoid feels Dexter tense in worry. He rubs his chin. 

“Is there something we can do? When did this happen?”

“Last night. I spent the evenin’ attemptin’ tae track the IP address. But It only led me to the library. Whoever did it was not the most skilled hacker I’ve seen. Messy and the tracks were not covered at all. But they were smart enough to use a public network and not their own."

Freakazoid clicks his tongue. Dexter seems to be thinking in the background but makes no comments. 

“Thanks for the warning, but I’m not sure there’s much I can do now?”

“Listen, laddie. I think… Well, I think that Geisterfahrer might be that clone that tried to be yew a while back. Yew remember? I have a hunch he might be trying to get in contact with his creator. I dinnae why.”

“Oh… Maybe it has something to do with what happened at the tech store. He broke down and… I haven’t really seen him since. Its almost been a month. I don’t even know what I did…”

Freakazoid scuffs his boot against the ground. 

“Yew dinnae tell me about this!”

“I didn’t think of it!!”

Freakazoid pouts and rubs his arms. Dexter soothes reminding him that they had no way of knowing that might have been useful to their mentor. 

“Well, what’s done is done. I’m going to do some more research to see if I can catch this villain. Keep yer eye out for anythun’ strange!”

“Will do!”

Freakazoid mock salutes and his mentor walks off shaking his head to himself. The hero continues on his way continuing to look around for any trouble. Maybe, hopefully, he would be able to see Geisterfahrer and find out what was going on. 

\-----------------------------

Geisterfahrer hums lightly as he makes his way to Dexter’s house. The geek had invited him to spend a Saturday afternoon playing games. The villain resists the urge to chew the inside of his mouth. He had uncovered some new information about his past by traipsing through the files of Apex Industries. Certainly helpful to try and puzzle out his aching soul, or at least a step forwards. There was not much on the local hero and what might have triggered the first soothing of the hollow and then its sudden reappearance. And there was certainly nothing to explain why Dexter was so special and could act as a balm. Maybe it had to do with Dexter being a genuinely a very nice guy. The clone sighs to himself, shoving his hands into his hoodie pocket. He stands before the door of his friend’s house. He had not been here since that first time and had not met the rest of his family. Absently Geisterfahrer readjusts his bun before knocking. There is a long silence and then the door opens. A teen that is equal to his height stares at him blankly. 

“Hi-yah. I’m here to see Dex.”

“Right. He owes you money or something?”

The redhead looks bored. Geisterfahrer feels concern smash over him. Was that so common? Was that the only imaginal reason for someone wanting to see Dexter? He gives a large disarming smile. 

“I’ll go with ‘or something’. He invited me over to hang out.” 

A look of disbelief crosses the teen’s face. There is a clattering in the house.

“Sweetie whose at the door?”

A woman comes up behind the redhead teen. Geirsterfahrer shifts his weight irritably. He is here to see Dexter and this blockade at the door is a large impediment to that goal. 

“Some kid.”

“I’m Hunter, here to see Dexter.”

Another round of blank staring. There is suddenly a crashing noise and the sound of something falling down the stairs. Dexter makes a sudden appearance behind his family.

“Hunter! You came! Mom this is my new friend I was telling you about.”

“OH! I thought that was one of your  _ online  _ friends. Have fun you two!”

The ways she says it is akin to someone talking about a fictional friend. Geisterfahrer narrows his eyes as she walks away. Dexter deflates a little while his brother snorts and then shoulder checks him as the redhead abandons the entrance, making the smaller brother wince. Geisterfahrer bites down a growl. There is a bittersweetness on his tongue. 

“Sorry about them. I don’t have a lot of people who come over. Come on in. How are you?”

“I’m pretty good. Ready to get beat?”

Dexter laughs softly and Geisterfahrer carefully tosses an arm over the smaller’s shoulders as they walk up the stairs.

“Trash talk? We haven’t started yet Hunter.”

“Ey, it’s never too early to start bucko.”

“Bucko? Really?”

Dexter elbows the villain with a snort. They make it to the geek’s room where he already has a console already set up. They plop down on the floor and begin playing. Geisterfahrer begins to talk about some of the new books he had read at Dexter’s recommendation. Two of them had been fictional, which had been a surprising delight go him, as he had grown used to interpreting the mostly dry instructional books. They sit, play, and talk for a while a calm atmosphere settles down over the two. 

Geisterfahrer dies onscreen and leans back with a groan. Dexter shoots him a sympathetic smile, before beating the level alone. The villain silently watches as the other rubs his side with a small huff of pain. He feels his anger return from the incident with the bullies from about two weeks previous. Looking away, Geisterfahrer curls his hand to a fist. He then decides to pose a question that has bounced lightly around in his subconscious. 

“Have you ever thought about leaving? Running away?”

Dexter glances at him, pausing the game.

“All the time,” The teen says and then laughs, “But that’s normal. Most people think about it.”

Geisterfahrer frowns, allowing a more serious expression to take over his face,

“But what if you could leave right now and escape all of the bullies at your school?”

Dexter sighs and curls into himself.

“Some times… Sometimes duty means doing the things your heart may well regret.”

The last part sounds like a quote and Dexter runs a hand through his hair. 

“Duty? Dex. What the heck are you talking about?”

The geek frowns.

“Duty is the wrong word I guess. I can’t just drop my education and give up on all the progress I’ve made forwards. What about you? Would you be fine with dropping family and friends to run off?”

Geisterfahrer fiddles with his gloves.

“I hold no particular love for my old man. But I guess it would suck having to abandon my best friend.”

He gently, very gently, nudged his friend with his elbow. Geisterfahrer felt a little bitter thinking of the man that had created him. Dexter seems to note something off and he offers a side hug in response to the jab. Geisterfahrer accepts and then they drop the subject entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Growing friendship!!! It’s lovely. Hopefully, it won’t come crashing down on their heads. LMAO.  
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	17. Chapter 17

Dexter notices Hunter nodding off. As soon as his friend slips under, Dexter pauses the game. He grabs a blanket and gently places it over his friend. The geek worries over the other’s home life. Blue tinged skin that the other seems to be trying to cover up right around his kneck. Dexter’s not going to ask. He does not want to answer those kinds of questions himself, so he does not feel comfortable asking. The geek grabs a book and some paper to begin working on homework. He lays on his stomach and Mr. Chubbykins wanders onto his back, purring. Freakazoid begins to talk, having been distracting himself while Dexter had been hanging out with Hunter.

-Do you think that my hair would look good dyed red?-

‘Probably not? Why?’

Dexter asks, settling into the familiar pattern of having a strange conversation while working on other things. 

-Cause, Vegita had red hair for like one episode when he was first introduced, and I thought it looked nice.-

‘But he doesn’t have blue skin? I would think you’d want something that makes you look even crazier?’

-Then what color would work?-

‘Hmm. Maybe silver?’

Hypotheticals were commonplace between them and Dexter is quite comfortable letting the conversation zig and zag as he works and Hunter sleeps. Sometimes he absently mumbles aloud and flips through his pages. The conversation very quickly bounces from hair dye to food to motorcycles. Dexter scribbles down some answers with a small hum, agreeing with something that Freakazoid says. 

Suddenly Duncan comes bursting through the door, scaring Dexter into violently jerking back. He rams his elbow into his bedframe while Mr. Chubbykins scratches up his back in fright while scrambling away. The geek curls into a ball while hissing in pain. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the Hunter is on is feet in a fighting position. Freakazoid helpfully supplies ideas about flight or fight. The other certainly looks ready to throw down. Duncan is too busy laughing at Dexter’s reaction. 

“Hahaha. Your reaction was hilarious nerd.”

“Right, real funny.”

Dexter groans, sitting up. He then notices just how tense Hunter is and the glare the taller teen is sending his brother. Alarm fills him, as the look reminds him the one Hunter had when Dexter had been punched. He stands and moves towards Duncan to try and get between Hunter and Duncan. Subtly, without drawing Duncan’s attention, Hunter stops him, gently grabbing the edge of his jacket and tugging him to stand slightly behind him. Dexter feels oddly protected. It is nice. He decides to speak up from here rather than moving further forward, hoping to get Duncan to leave and settle Hunter down.

“What do you need Duncan?”

“Mom wanted to know if your  _ friend  _ wants to stay for dinner.”

Hunter turned slightly to Dexter but remains in front of the teen. His voice sounds tense. 

“Is it cool if I stay Dex?”

“Yeah. You’re totally welcome to.”

“Kay. Then I’m going to stay.”

Duncan finally seems to pick up on the aggravated atmosphere and leaves after a quick insult aimed at Dexter. Hunter slowly lets out a puff of air.

“Sorry that he woke you up so violently. Being startled awake sucks.”

Dexter shoots his friend an apologetic smile. 

“It’s not your fault. I probably should not have been asleep.”

Hunter shuffles his feet while ducking his head. Dexter shrugs and shoots the larger teen a soft smile. 

“No. I get it. It’s kinda a compliment you feel safe enough to fall asleep. I know very few people that is true for me.”

Dexter reflects. There is only one person he really sleeps around, where he feels the safest and that if Freakazoid when the hero is out saving the city. Dexter has found himself nodding off or waking up in his mental room soothed by the other’s presence. He refocuses on his friend. Hunters shoulders un-tense and there is a smile there. Dexter plops back down on the floor and Hunter joins him. They start talking, conversation coming easily as Dexter boots the game back up.

\---

Geisterfahrer trails through the dark forest, letting his bare toes sink into the mossy leaf-covered ground. It is slightly damp against the arches of his feet. Something is in these woods. Something that he knows that he wants. He feels his breath warming the air in front of his face, cold slowly inching across his skin. Whatever he is pursuing is distant. He picks up the pace, letting his feet fall without care against the roots. He feels the darkness closing in. The villain finds himself stumbling into a clearing. Everything lightens and the air warms as he catches sight of Dexter. The geek is seated hands gently cupped around something Geisterfahrer cannot see. The smaller teen glances up. 

“Dex?”

A head tilt is the only answer that he receives. He moves closer but then feels something stop him. Dexter slowly un-cups his hands, allowing them to lie flat side by side. A soft blue light is sitting there. It pulses and then warps growing. Geisterfahrer grits his teeth, feeling anger at the light. Dexter shoots him a disapproving frown, the first look close to anger that Geisterfahrer had seen at himself by his friend. He flinches back with a murmured apology. Dexter lets the light settle about him, his eyes softened.

Geisterfarher sits nearby, not liking the light but not wanting to upset his friend. Something ugly twists in his gut and he gags. Black bile drips from his mouth growing and morphing. A fox, larger than him with large leathery wings, stalks forward, towards Dexter, it’s jaw unhinging. Geisterfahrer freezes in horror as Dexter looks fearful. The blue light sharpens and brightens into a shield in front of the geek. The fox dragon leaps snapping and growling, ripping at the blue light, often knocking past it to cut into the geek who is bleeding. Geisterfarher is stuck in a silent scream. Roots are holding him down and away from his friend. He is suddenly yanked backwards and Geisterfahrer finds himself waking on the floor of his warehouse. Tears stain his cheeks and he wipes them away with some confusion. He feels unsettled. His hand flutters over his phone, very tempted to message his only contact. But it is late… He hesitates, biting the inside of his cheek. Sucking in air, he sends a message and then curls around the phone.

{Do you get bad dreams?}

He then begins to cry, feeling bitterly alone and suddenly very afraid of the future. The villain sobs into an echoing room that seems to mock him by sending back his own sounds of sorrow. His eyes sting as he settles back into sleep, hoping for a better tomorrow. The nightmare returns behind his closed eyelids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YIKES. I can’t count the number of nightmares I’ve had about friends. Never pleasant. I always feel particularly shaken up about the ones about family and friends. Blah. 
> 
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	18. Chapter 18

Freakazoid babbles as Dexter goes through classes. The geek is anxious to go meet up with Hunter after school. The other teen had sent a weird text last night. Dexter had sent one back a message of reassurance and Hunter had asked to meet up as a reply. Dexter had readily agreed. Freakazoid twists within the mindscape, mind settling on to an odd topic.

-Hey Dexy?-

‘Yeah?’

-Am I a demon?- 

Dexter violently jerks in the real world accidentally stabbing himself with a pencil. Reassurance surrounds him, tight warm, and comforting. Freakazoid leans into it. 

‘No! You’re not. Why would you ever say that?’

-I was just thinking about things. Like, I kinda possess you?-

Dexter relaxes at Freakazoid’s calming tone. The hero smiles a bit to himself. It was nice to be one of the things Dexter would come out of his timid shell to defend.

‘Oh. I’ve always seen it like the Yugioh thing and less of a creepy creature from hell trying to drag me into the fires.’

The last part comes out with a bit of a joking tint. Freakazoid chuckles. 

-So I get to be a ghost?-

‘Hmm. Yeah. But not a wise ancient one.’

-I can live with that.-

Dexter sends a raised eyebrow mentally. The hero thinks back and then laughs.

-Right. I can’t do that cause I’m a ghost. XD-

The hero sends over a mental emoji.

‘I will never understand how you do that. But hey, just to make sure you know, you’re welcome to stay. It’s not a possession. I don’t label it that.’

And there is that strong reassuring warmth that Freakazoid happily wraps himself in.

-Can I stay forever?-

‘Of course. You don’t have to ask.’ 

Freakazoid hums with a wide smile plastered onto his face. He contently goes back to watching Dexter move through the rest of his day. He can feel calm reassurances throughout the day. It seems that Dexter is on edge from Hunter’s message and his own words. The hero feels a little guilty to have added to that stress. He sends back comfort, bubbling back the warmth he is receiving. Dexter is in a slightly more positive by the end of the day. The geek leaves the school building heading into the library.

\-----------

Dexter steps into the library looking for his friend. He wanders down the aisles. Where is Hunter? Is the other okay? He turns his head at the sound of fast-approaching feet. He just barely catches sight of his friend, before he is yanked into a tight one crushing hug. Dexter freezes slightly, letting out a soft gasp of pain. The other had always been soft when touching him, treating him much like spun glass. Hunter is shaking, stifled sobs echoing in his friend's chest. Dexter pulls his arm up and hugs back as tightly as he can. It is not quite as tight as Hunter’s hug, but it is the best he can do. The other seems so shaken. The geek wants to know what is going on, but does not say anything. Hunter buries his face into Dexter’s shoulder. Dexter searches his mind for the right words to say to comfort his friend.

“It’s okay. You’re safe here. I’m safe. It’s all going to be fine.”

The words are familiar to him, repetitive from reassuring Freakazoid. Tears soaking into his shirt past his jacket. Minutes pass and Dexter makes sure to keep his breaths even and calm. His friend begins to breathe in time with him. The vice grip loosens but the geek makes no move to separate himself. Had something gone on at his friend’s house? He lets himself be a rock for the other. Slowly, he begins to rub circles into Hunter’s back. Something clicks together and the taller boy pulls back. Dexter gives him a smile and then notes that the other’s cheek looks a little blue like makeup had been smudged away from covering a bruise. 

“Are you okay?”

Hunter looks unsure of himself at the question and Dexter feels his worry grow. Had his friend’s “old man” hit him? Dexter feels Freakazoid growling lowly. It is nice to know that his best friend is becoming protective of his other friend. Hunter clenches and unclenches his hands, eyes cast to the side. 

“Do… you want to go somewhere safe? Somewhere to hide for a little bit? I have all of Star Wars.”

He wants to offer anything he can to help his friend. Hunter nods, still seeming to be shaken by something. Dexter tucks himself into his friend’s side and leads him out of the library. The geek continues to mumble reassurances and nonsense thoughts to the nonresponsive taller teen. They arrive at the house and Dexter speaks.

“I’m going to get some food if you want to go up to my room?”

Hunter’s arm tightens around his shoulder and Dexter takes that as a no. The geek continues to chatter filling the silence of the house while gathering some junk food and then moves to his room. Hunter separates from him and moves to grab the geek’s computer chair. He hooks it under the door nob. Dexter takes note of the blockade and grabs his hardback dictionary and tucks it against the base of the door. Hunter shoots him a smile

“Do you want to check the widow? It has a lock.”

Hunter nods and inspects the window while Dexter sets up the first movie and migrates all of his pillows and blankets to the floor. Hunter joins him, seeming to settle and grow calm for the first time. Dexter throws a blanket over his friend before grabbing Mr. Chubbykins and tucking himself back into his friend’s side with the cat on his lap. He starts the movie and Hunter holds him in a side hug. 

After the first movie ends Hunter is completely relaxed. Mr. Chubbykins had moved to stretch between their labs, and both are petting him. Dexter glances up at Hunter when the larger makes a small noise.

“I… I had a dream that you died. And I couldn’t handle it. I could smell the blood and hear every bit of pain. And I was useless.”

“Nightmares suck. I find that talking to people afterward helps.”

“I don’t really have anyone where I live.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ive actually done the door blocking thing before. It helps soothe panic when I get afraid of my own dreams.   
> Hey I dont have a game or binary this time round because Ive been really busy. Im sorry!’


	19. Chapter 19

Geisterfahrer glances away from the empathetic look coming from the other. He knows that Dexter can relate and he hates that. Then Dexter speaks again, drawing his attention back to the geek.

“Hey. If you need… and feel comfortable, you can call me after your nightmares. I hate the idea of you suffering alone.”

Aw, heck. Why would anyone hurt this geek? Dexter was the kindest person Geisterfahrer had ever met. The villain follows the strong impulse that crashes over him and he pulls the geek into a full hung. Dexter lets out a surprised laugh. 

“I’ll take you up on that offer. Thanks.”

“Sure Hunter. You’re my friend.”

Geisterfahrer smiles warmth coiling through him. He gently lets go of his friend.

“Thanks again. So! You have the next movie? I gotta know what happens to that Luke kid. And I definitely need to see Vader again.”

“Ah, yeah, sure! I’ll put it in.”

They settle in again. Dexter falls asleep in the middle of the film and Geisterfahrer sinks into a half-sleep keeping just aware enough for any potential dangers. But for the first time since he had dreamt of the miserable nightmare, he feels safe. 

A while later he slides back into full awareness. Someone has entered the house. He checks back over Dexter who is sleeping soundly. He tucks the blanket a little tighter around the geek, smiling at the sight of the chubby cat curled in the smaller teen’s lap. Geisterfahrer stretches his arms, getting more awake While calm, the villain knows the dangers that Dexter’s family may pose. He picks out a book from Dexter’s shelf and settles himself on the chair that is blocking the door, ready to defend. A little while later he hears thundering footsteps, obviously the brother. He glances at Dexter who is stirring. Clicking his tongue Geisterfahrer feels vague annoyance. The door suddenly begins to shake with the force of the brother slamming through to the other side. Dexter jolts from his light sleep and Geisterfahrer calmly rises from the chair.

“It’s alright Dexter.”

The geek tiredly blinks up at him. The brother apparently gives up and the door stops shaking. Geisterfahrer plops down beside the teen.

“Oh… Sorry for falling asleep on you… we didn’t finish the movies…”

Dexter mumbles sadly. Geisterfahrer gives him a bright smile while ruffling his hair.

“Just means I have to come back and watch it later.”

Dexter smile at that and Geisterfahrer tastes sweetness on his tongue. 

“That’s good.”

The geek mumbles, stretching. Then Dexter rises, gently setting the cat onto the floor. Geisterfahrer sighs, knowing that he will have to leave soon. Before he goes he gets one final hug from Dexter and reassurances that the geek is always just one call away. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dexter stares down the fox-dragon. Fear curdles in his gut. This is the thing that has been chasing him through the dark forest. He takes a step back and the fox follows, growling lowly. Blue light swirls around him. He twists and dashes away, the sound of claws tearing up the ground quickly following him. The sound of heavy flaps echos the geek’s own foot steps. The air is thick with moisture and Dexter takes gasping breaths. He then hears yelling. Is that? The voice becomes clearer. It is Hunter’s voice. 

“Return! Stop! This is not what I want!”

The fox-dragon barks angry and there is a crash. Dexter twists, turning to see Hunter smashing into the fox. Worry bubbles in his stomach. He could not leave his friend. 

“You are of me! OBEY!!”

Hunter snarls, screaming. Dexter feels fear of his friend fill him. That vivid anger that he had seen before. He stumbles back. Something is not right. Something is wrong about all of this. The forest fades and Dexter slowly awakes in the real world. Dexter had never put much stock in interpreting dreams, but that had oddly felt like a premonition. Having a dream in the same place more than once with a similar theme, felt too real. What was his brain trying to subconsciously tell him about Hunter, or his own life in general? Suddenly his phone is buzzing. His eyes widen. He picks up as soon as he sees it is his friend.

“Hunter?”

“Hey… You said it was … okay to call you after a nightmare.”

“Yeah. Yeah! So do you wanna talk about it? Or something else?”

“Could you… could you talk about something…”

“Of course.”

Dexter begins to chatter about a game that he had played a while ago, going through the story and explaining which characters drew his attention and gushing over the backdrop and world-building story. Hunter quietly listens, humming occasionally. Dexter talks until the other snores quietly. The geek plugs his phone in, but does not hang up, despite falling asleep. Just in case. 

The next day Dexter sits in class trying to puzzle out his dream. He doodles the beast from his dream, biting his lip. He feels a presence at his shoulder

“What’s up nerd? What sissy thing are you drawing?”

Suddenly his notebook is snatched away by the large jock.

“The heck! What is this! You’re so disturbed!!!”

“OOOH! Pass it Kev!”

And now is notebook is being tossed about the room. Fantastic. The geek waits until the jocks get bored and then collects his notebook from the floor. Just one more incident on the ever-growing list. Freakazoid whispers an apology that Dexter waves away. When the final bell rings, the geek slowly begins to make his way home. A sudden explosion has him turning and noting the Lobe dashing out from a Walmart with stolen goods. Dexter smiles a little, kind of excited to have an excuse to hand over control for a little while. He ducks into a nearby alleyway and yells out the code phrase as quickly as he can. The geek settles in the mind space relieved to not be responsible anymore. Freakazoid could handle this situation. Dexter sighs happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. I gotta stop being mean to characters. But I wont. Also the star wars au was technically started after this chapter was written but before I edited it lol. Weird timeline.


	20. Chapter 20

Geisterfahrer curls in the ally way as the explosion rocks the street. He had noticed the brain villain dash into the Walmart and had ducked into an alleyway primitively to avoid whatever the fallout was going to be. He almost rises, but freezes as his hollowed soul fills. Dexter? Here? Did the teen get caught in the explosion? He spots Dexter and, again, almost rises but stops. Dexter’s body violently twists after the teen yells and suddenly the hollow reappears as Freakazoid stands where the geek had once been. Geisterfahrer shoves a fist into his mouth to keep from screaming. He trembles violently, stomach flipping. As he rises to his feet he rushes forwards and wretches. The stench of bile clogs his nose and he pushes himself away and moves out of the alley. He makes his way down the street, stumbling and gagging. He feels shaken to his core. What is he supposed to do with this information? At the very least he knows what happened that first time at the tech store. He curls into a ball on the floor of his warehouse with a broken noise. What is he to do? His mind flies through thoughts. 

Did Dexter have a choice in having that hero take over his body? Why did the hero not keep Dexter safe? Why was his friend covered in bruises if the hero lies just beneath his skin? Geisterfahrer growls darkly. He needs to get to the bottom of this. And wrench the two apart if he so needed to. Whatever to do to keep his friend safe.

He gets up, teeth bared. Time to raid his old man’s secret hideouts to get the materials that he needs. The villain darts through the streets, sticking to the shadows. He crisscrosses the city, breaking into warehouses, attics, and basements, gathering and plotting. His mind whirls as he moves. He had promised nothing would stop him from filling the hollow and now that promise is evolving. Nothing would stop him from helping Dexter. Not even some second rate failure of a hero. 

\------------------------------

Freakazoid hums as he noms on an icy he had just gotten with Cosgrove as he wanders down the street. He is chattering internally to Dexter. He abruptly freezes as he catches sight of the red-suited villain who had been painfully absent for weeks. The hero stomps down on his own desire to run-up to the villain and hug him. Geisterfahrer stares at him with a narrowed glare.

“Geist? Are you okay? Last time I saw you....”

He trails off worry twisting his stomach making his words fade off. Geisterfahrer sneers and begins to run away. Freakazoid bolts forwards, following on the heels of the villain hoping to find out what had happened. They dash through the streets, moving towards the edges of town. Geisterfahrer ducks into a warehouse and Freakazid follows without hesitation. Suddenly a cage falls from the ceiling, buzzing and causing Freakazoid to shuffle back. Negatively charged ion bars. Geisterfahrer must have found out from Guittierrez. Geist walks forwards and slams his hands against the bars of the cage. 

“What are you doing to Dexter Douglas?!”

Freakazoid freezes, breath stuck in his lungs. Dexter is violently freaking out in the back of his mind. The hero lets out a noise of confusion.

“What do you mean? How do know about Dexter?”

“I’m asking the questions here! I saw you in that alleyway. What are you doing to him?!”

Freakazoid flinches at the loud slam, fear dragging through him. No, no, no. Villains knowing about Dexter is a big not good. He begins to panic.

“Please, please. Don’t hurt him. It’s not his fault that we share a body. If you’re trying to hurt me, bruising him won’t have any effect. Please.”

Freakazoid is begging and wraps his arms around his torso. Dexter has shut down in the back of his mind and Freakazoid can barely feel him. Tears prick at the edges of his eyes. Geisterfahrer looks surprised but then his face shifts back to passive.

“If you’re so insistent I don’t hurt him, why don’t you stop others? How can you be a hero when right beneath your nose Dexter is getting hurt by his peers?”

Freakazoid ducks his head, looking away in shame. 

“Yeah. I know… But he won’t let me. That’s just how Dexter is. Never wanting to get revenge.”

“That… That sounds like Dexter.”

Freakazoid’s eyes dart up and feels like he should recognize something more about Geisterfahrer.

“How… How do you know his name?”

The villain tilts his head.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me what you have done to him.”

“I’m a second identity? I dunno. We’re best friends and he’s the nicest and lets me stay around. He said I could stay forever. I try my best. I keep the city safe, but he doesn’t let me save him.”

Freakazoid remembers back on all the reassurances and pulls them close to himself. Dexter seems to be coming back slowly. He rubs his arms as he looks at the villain. Geisterfahrer breathes slowly, processing.

“I am Hunter.”

Geist pulls his hair back into a bun and Freakazoid can see it. Suddenly he is hit with a rush of hope.

“You can help him! You can do what I cant,” Freakazoid reaches through the bars and grabs the villain, “You did so before. I can’t be there at school, but you could. Please.”

The hero falls back to begging. Geist stares at him seeming to come to a conclusion.

“You actually care about Dex.”

“Of course I do. Dexy is the best. Please help him. It’s been awesome for him since you started being his friend. He’s not half as lonely.”

There is a flash of embarrassment from the geek who has returned fully to awareness. Geisterfahrer shifts his arms so that he has Freakazoid’s right hand in a firm handshake.

“I would do anything for Dexter. You don’t have to beg me.”

“Then you’ll do it? Youll make a plan and help him?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll respect Dexter’s wishes, even if they seem dumb, and stay his friend?”

Geist looks slightly less comfortable with this but still nods. Freakazoid shakes his hand firmly. 

“I’m trusting you. I know that Dexy is safe with you. Freak in!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom. The thing that I’ve been trying to build towards. One chapter left!


	21. Chapter 21

Dexter breathes and looks up at his friend, who apparently has been a villain this whole time. But Dexter cannot find it in himself to be too angry. He had known that his friend did not have a stable home life, and now he can see that there was actually no home life. The surrounding warehouse is full of junk and absent of warmth. He keeps a hold of the hand that is clasped in his. Geisterfahrer actually looks afraid of him. Dexter decides to be gentle in tone.

“So does this mean you're going to join my highschool?”

This seems to startle Hunter.

“You're not going to yell at me? Don't you want revenge for me lying?”

“You have been a really good friend to me and you've never hurt me before. I trust Freak’s judgment. You were his friend before… Well, before what ever happened at the tech store. What did happen there?”

Hunter ducks his head, relief dripping off of his un-tensed shoulders. 

“That's a long story.”

“I think I can safely say we have time. Let me out of here,”the geek taps the cage bars, “and we can sit down to talk.”

Geisterfahrer presses a button and the cage rises. Dexter follows the taller teen who plops himself down amidst a horde of pillows blankets and random spare technical parts. Dexter sits down beside him.

“So… Hunter, or Geisterfahrer? Um…”

“Either is fine. I've chosen both. I wasn't named by my old man.”

Dexter hears the bitterness there and pats his friend. 

“Could you… I mean would you… Do you feel comfortable talking?”

“Yeah, I owe you some sort of explanation, given me attacking your hero friend.”

Dexter gives him a small encouraging smile as the other sucks in a deep breath but Geisterfarhrer seems to be struggling to find words. Dexter grabs his shaking hand and starts talking.

“I can share first, with what I know, and then you can build from there?”

He gets a silent nod in response.

“Okay. So, you started running around the city as a villain a couple months ago, but you were fairly nonviolent. Freakazoid fought you a couple times, and he saw you as a sort of frenemy which you didn’t seem opposed to at the time. Freakazoid’s mentor, who is kinda my mentor too, Roddy, said you might be a clone. Then the tech store happened and you vanished. Roddy noticed that someone had broken into Apex’s systems. That was you, right?”

Another nod.

“So then you know about Guittierrez, and you obviously had to talk to him to learn about the cage. But you didn't know Freakazoid’s identity till later?”

“Yeah. That timeline is about right. But a little wrong.”

Dexter nods. He tightens his hand a little, trying to bring comfort. He had promised to be there after nightmares, and it felt like his friend’s life was just a more real nightmarish experience. Hunter breathes deeply.

“I woke alone in an alley in the middle of a storm. I was empty.”

Dexter shivers at this. There is something full of ache in that last word.

“I tried to fill myself. I shut down the city. And I started robbing places afterwards, running into Freakazoid who I sorta liked well enough. Then the tech store happened. I felt whole for the first time. I know that sounds dumb. But it had been my goal since waking to end that empty pit. And then suddenly I was so painfully hollow again, and Freak was there. And I… I hated him. So much. So I went to find a way to hurt him. I followed old trails and talked to people in private and I found Guittierrez. He told me about the bars and… and he revealed that he made a clone and threw it away. He threw me away. I was a failure and I was unwanted.”

There are tears in his friend’s eyes and Dexter knows how he feels.

\---------

“I want you. You’re my friend.”

Geisterfahrer blinks through tears as Dexter tugs him into a hug, he accepts it. He pulls himself together, taking comfort in the steady presence of his friend. 

“Thanks. But maybe you won't..”

He pulls back slightly and keeps talking.

“I killed someone. Specifically I killed my old man.When he told me that I was a failure… and that he wanted to take me apart… I choked him to death and set that warehouse on fire.”

Dexter looks torn and Geisterfahrer prepares himself for the certain rejection of himself by his friend.

“He’s tried to kill Freakazoid and has threatened me in the past. I don't think what you did is something I could have done… But, the man was crazy. He probably would have hunted you down once he knew what you were and would have attempted to tear you apart… So what you did was a kind of self defense. Can you promise me that you would never kill someone outside of self defense?”

Geisterfahrer hears the seriousness in his voice and nods solemnly. 

“I can agree to that.”

“Good. So you… after he died what happened?”

“I met you. And everything was great. I forgot my revenge plans. I just wanted to focus on being your friend and keeping you safe. You killed the hollow and it hurt less and less to go our separate ways after each meeting. And then I saw you transform in an alley and I became worried. For no reason I guess.”

“For what it's worth Freakazoid says he appreciates the immediate concern you had for me.”

Geist lets out a startled laugh at this. 

“Can he hear me?”

“Yeah. He normally can see and hear what I can. So he’s kinda been there all the times we’ve hung out. He really approves of you.”

“‘Preciate that Freak. If it means anything, I don't think he's too bad himself, now that I know he's not taken over your body without your consent.” 

Dexter chuckles at this.

“So you're okay with being friends, despite how messed up I am?”

Geisterfahrer asks, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing away.

“Hunter. Geisterfahrer. You didn't choose to be alone with no one to tell you right and wrong in the beginning. What you did choose was to be an excellent friend and to cause very little harm, outside of an incident with one crazied up frootloop. Who wouldn't want to be friends with someone who stands up and protects his friends? I told you I’d be there for you, and I hold to that promise, for as long as you will have me.”

Geisterfahrer moves forward, pulling the geek into a tight hug.

“Is forever okay?”

“Of course.”

\------------------------------------------------------+

Dexter’s not sure how he managed it but somehow he had convinced his parents to take Hunter in. The other was vigilant in keeping his blue skin hidden while around his family and at school. Roddy had helped them get documents for the teen to go to school with Dexter and the ex-villain shared his classes. They had left Hunter’s stolen goods at the station with a declaration of his intent not to be a villain anymore. The rest of his stuff had either been mixed among Dexter’s in the geek’s room or sorted into the Freakalair. Freakazoid and Geisterfarher had tentatively building a friendship with Geist acting as the man in the chair for Freakazoid through comms, helping out with finding and stopping crime by entering into the cameras of the city and chatting to the hero. When Dexter and Geist were hanging out, Dexter would give control of his left hand to Freakazoid, who taps out his comments with morse code. Dexter happily enjoys both of his friendships, his life growing brighter and less painful with them at his side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that wraps this up. Thank you so so much for reading. This was my first time making a story for an oc so I really appreciate everyone who has read! I’ve also enjoyed the opportunity to learn how to make online games. So thanks for that as well. If yall still wanna see geist dex and freak getting up to dumb things, 1) the star wars au is in full swing and I plan to give a big update with this story today to celebrate my birth, and 2) feel free to come to my Tumblr where there is fan art of them all and you are free to ask any questions whenever about anything. Have a great day!!!  
> Tumblr is hermesserpent-stuff

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little look into the average day of Dexter and Freakazoid before things start to change.  
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